HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the size of population a typical "super A&E" as defined by the National Director for Emergency Access on page 4 of his report Emergency access - clinical case for change, published 5 December 2006, should serve.

Andy Burnham: It is a matter for the local national health service to ensure the provision of appropriate services, including accident and emergency facilities, to meet people's needs.
	There is increasing consensus among professional bodies that a critical size of hospital is required to ensure that specialist facilities are available to treat all patients with emergency needs safely. While the actual populations hospitals will serve in the future will differ slightly across the country, in general it may be that they will need to serve larger populations than is currently the case. Different clinical specialties may also have different demands in terms of the number of cases required to maintain clinical expertise.

Air Fresheners

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent research her Department has conducted into the impact upon  (a) indoor air quality and  (b) human health of the use of air fresheners.

Caroline Flint: In 1997, the Department together with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) commissioned a joint research programme on the effects on health of exposure to air pollutants and damp in the home. This programme focused on indoor air pollution and its effects on health. In particular, the health effects on sensitive individuals within the population and the interactions between indoor air pollutants and health effects of damp in the domestic environment. There were 13 projects in total, seven of which were funded directly by the Department. Further details of these projects can be found at table three of 'Air Pollution Research Funded' which is available on the Department's website at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/07/06/08/04070608.pdf.
	Copies have been placed in the Library.
	Air freshening products contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and in 1997, the Department's Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) was asked to consider the health effects of exposure to VOCs in the home. As part of this, COMEAP considered data collected by the Buildings Research Establishment (BRE) on behalf of the DETR and had published a statement in their 1997-98 annual report which is available at:
	www.advisorybodies.doh.gov.uk/comeap/pdfs/comeap9798.pdf.
	Copies have been placed in the Library.

Barlborough Independent Sector Treatment Centre

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many post-operative excessive limb shortening complications have been dealt with by NHS hospitals involving patients initially treated at the Barlborough Independent Sector Treatment Centre in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006;
	(2)  what monitoring is undertaken of excessive limb shortening post-operative problems of patients from the Barlborough Independent Sector Treatment Centre.

Andy Burnham: This information is not held by the Department. Providers have a responsibility to report and investigate any incidents internally. The Department's contract management unit monitors and, where appropriate, investigates the clinical performance of the providers. This is achieved through the scrutiny of clinical performance information, incident reports, patient satisfaction and patient complaint measures.

Barlborough Independent Sector Treatment Centre

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when an official from her Department last visited the Barlborough Independent Sector Treatment Centre.

Andy Burnham: David Nicholson, Chief Executive of the National Health Service, visited the Barlborough independent sector treatment centre on 15 September 2006. As part of the continued contract management, representatives from the Departments regularly visit the treatment centre, most recently on 16 January 2007.

Clostridium Difficile

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she plans to introduce markers of clinical severity into the mandatory surveillance system for  clostridium difficile infection.

Ivan Lewis: We do not have any plans to introduce markers of clinical severity at present.

Clostridium Difficile

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she plans to review the guidance on the use of culture and typing within the system of mandatory surveillance for  clostridium difficile infection.

Ivan Lewis: There are no plans to review the current guidance.

Compulsory Community Treatment Orders

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to publish the findings of the Institute of Psychiatry review of research on the use of compulsory community treatment orders for people with a mental disorder commissioned by her Department.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has commissioned a literature review, which looks at international experiences of implementing community treatment order. We have not yet received the final report of the review from the independent researcher. We do however intend to publish the literature review as soon as we can after it is completed.

Departmental Statistics

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department spent on statistics relating to the work of her Department in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: There is no definition of the term statistics relating to the work of the Department and no centrally held information on either the volume or costs of statistics published each year on this basis.
	Estimates for the annual costs of national statistics are contained in the relevant 'National Statistics Annual Report and Accounts', which are available in the Library and on the National Statistics website at:
	www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=1051
	The last year these were produced was 2004-05.

Departmental Travel

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's expenditure was on foreign travel, including accommodation, in  (a) 1996-97 and  (b) 2005-06.

Ivan Lewis: The Department's expenditure on foreign travel, including accommodation from 1996-97 to 2003-04 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   £ 
			 1996-97 521,861 
			 1997-98 575,458 
			 1998-99 590,089 
			 1999-2000 553,386 
			 2000-01 549,105 
			 2001-02 608,814 
			 2002-03 591,748 
			 2003-04 702,055 
		
	
	Information in the requested form is not available as the Department is not required to report in such detail for the statutory accounts. Therefore, the information has not been collected centrally since April 2004. Although this information cannot currently be obtained without incurring disproportional costs, the Department is exploring with our contractors the provision of similar data on a regular basis in the future.

Elderly Irish Men

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the health needs of elderly Irish males living in England.

Andy Burnham: The Department has made no specific assessment of the health needs of elderly Irish males living in the United Kingdom. The most extensive survey on the health of minority ethnic groups ever carried out in England was published in April 2006. The 2004 "Health Survey for England" interviewed over 6,000 adults from black and minority ethnic communities including Irish communities. The report is available in the Library.

Insulin

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the  (a) safety,  (b) clinical effectiveness and  (c) cost effectiveness of (i) animal insulins, (ii) synthetic human insulins and (iii) analogue insulins; and whether she plans to ask the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence to make an assessment of those treatments.

Ivan Lewis: All licensed insulins have been fully assessed and found to satisfy the regulatory requirements for quality, safety and efficacy. The safety of human insulins in clinical practice is continually monitored by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the European Medicines Agency.
	Clinical guidelines produced by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the management of both type one and type two diabetes conclude that the majority of studies indicate that both human and animal insulins are equally effective and report no significant differences in hypoglycaemic episodes and glycaemic control between the insulin of human and animal chemical structures.
	NICE produces guidance for the national health service and Wales on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of treatment and healthcare based on the latest available evidence.

London SHA

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been allocated from the budget of each London primary care trust to the London Strategic Health Authority in each year since 2005.

Ivan Lewis: The table shows primary care trust (PCT) topslice to NHS London at quarter two, 2006-07. From 2006-07 we have abolished planned support and given strategic health authorities (SHAs) the ability to generate reserves from top slicing their PCT allocations. This topslicing did not occur in 2005-06.
	
		
			  Organisation name  PCT topslice (£000) 
			 Havering Primary Care Trust 9,352 
			 Kingston Primary Care Trust 5,924 
			 Bromley Primary Care Trust 10,952 
			 Greenwich Teaching Primary Care Trust 11,235 
			 Barnet Primary Care Trust 12,816 
			 Hillingdon Primary Care Trust 9,048 
			 Enfield Primary Care Trust 10,294 
			 Barking and Dagenham Primary Care Trust 6,345 
			 City and Hackney Teaching Primary Care Trust 14,840 
			 Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust 12,268 
			 Newham Primary Care Trust 11,376 
			 Haringey Primary Care Trust 10,176 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham Primary Care Trust 8,018 
			 Ealing Primary Care Trust 13,068 
			 Hounslow Primary Care Trust 8,763 
			 Brent Teaching Primary Care Trust 11,981 
			 Harrow Primary Care Trust 7,506 
			 Camden Primary Care Trust 11,438 
			 Islington Primary Care Trust 9,932 
			 Croydon Primary Care Trust 12,462 
			 Kensington and Chelsea Primary Care Trust 8,084 
			 Westminster Primary Care Trust 10,783 
			 Lambeth Primary Care Trust 13,755 
			 Southwark Primary Care Trust 11,819 
			 Lewisham Primary Care Trust 11,719 
			 Wandsworth Primary Care Trust 11,376 
			 Richmond and Twickenham Primary Care Trust 6,629 
			 Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust 13,553 
			 Redbridge Primary Care Trust 9,114 
			 Waltham Forest Primary Care Trust 9,398 
			 Bexley Care Primary Care Trust 7,552 
			  Source: Financial monitoring returns quarter two, 2006-07.

NHS Trust Managers

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many members of management within NHS Trusts were made redundant in 2005; what the total paid in redundancy payments was; and how many of those individuals have been subsequently re-employed within the NHS.

Rosie Winterton: Redundancy data for national health service trusts was not collected centrally in 2005.

Official Cars

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cars run by her Department were manufactured  (a) in the UK and  (b) abroad.

Ivan Lewis: The Department runs one car which was manufactured in the United Kingdom and one car manufactured abroad. All other cars are operated by the Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA)
	Information on cars operated by the GCDA is available on page 14 of its annual report and accounts 2005-06, copies of which are available in the Library.

Public Health

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1230W, on public health, what the figures were in each of the previous three years;
	(2)  what percentage of the PCT programme budget was accounted for by category 21 expenditure on public health in  (a) 2003-04,  (b) 2004-05 and  (c) 2005-06.

Caroline Flint: Estimates of primary care trust expenditure on public health are available from the healthy individuals category in the programme budgeting returns. Expenditure in this category covers immunisation, screening and general/routine health examinations. However, not all spend on public health will necessarily be picked up in this category.
	The net spend on healthy individuals as a proportion of total net operating expenditure, for each primary care trust in England for the financial years 2003-04, the first year these data were collected, 2004-05 and 2005-06 has been placed in the Library.

Royal Mail

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department spent using Royal Mail in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: The Department spent the following amounts using Royal Mail in each of the last five years:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2001-02 491,108 
			 2002-03 479,751 
			 2003-04 344,915 
			 2004-05 356,959 
			 2005-06 252,278

Social Enterprise Pathfinders

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what criteria were used by strategic health authorities in determining social enterprise pathfinder programmes.

Ivan Lewis: The assessment criteria used by the strategic health authorities and regional partners are as follows:
	is there a clear sense of vision and purpose in the proposal?
	do the services proposed meet a gap in current provision?
	do the services proposed improve on current provision?
	is there a sense of innovation in the proposal?
	do the services proposed fit strategically with the local health and social care economy?
	have clients been involved, or will be involved, in contributing to the design of services?
	have staff been involved, or will be involved, in contributing to the design of services?
	are there plans to involve stakeholders?
	does the proposal demonstrate a vision for the service's social objectives and how these will be realised?
	are robust governance arrangements planned or in place?
	is there a sense that there is sufficient management capability in the organisation?
	is there explicit commissioner support for the application, or a clear demonstration that the scheme will be financially viable?

PRIME MINISTER

Interview Clearance

David Lidington: To ask the Prime Minister whether his office cleared in advance the interview given by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to the  New Statesman for publication in its issue of 22 January; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: I refer the hon. Member to the press briefing given by my official spokesman on 18 January 2007. A transcript of this is available on the No. 10 website and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

Parliamentary Questions

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Prime Minister when he expects to reply to question 116965, on Tanzania, tabled by the hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield for answer on 19 January.

Tony Blair: I replied to the hon. Member on 19 January 2007. I understand that because of a printing error my answer did not appear in the  Official Report for that day, although it has now done so.

DEFENCE

EU and NATO Missions

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was to the UK of  (a) EU military operations and  (b) NATO military operations in each year between 2003 and 2006.

Des Browne: The cost of UK contributions to EU and NATO operations are not borne by the Defence budget. Costs are charged either against the HM Treasury Reserve or the conflict prevention pools.
	The MOD records centrally costs of regional operations as a whole and does not apportion operational cost to the specific command authority at the time. Consequently, it is not possible to distinguish between the EU and NATO costs in all cases
	
		
			   Total cost (£ million)  Notes 
			  Afghanistan   
			 2003-2004 46 NATO led operation 
			 2004-2005 67 NATO led operation 
			 2005-2006 199 NATO led operation 
			
			  The Balkans   
			 2003-2004 103 NATO led operations 
			 2004-2005 87 EU(1)/NATO 
			 2005-2006 63 EU/NATO 
			
			  DR Congo   
			 2003-2004 1 EU led(2) 
			 2006-2007 Negligible(3) EU 
			
			  Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)   
			 2003-2004 1 EU(4) 
			 (1 )FOR ALTHEA (Bosnia and Herzegovina) commenced 12 December 2004.  (2) Operation ARTEMIS: June to September 2003.  (3) Operation EUFOR RD Congo: April to November 2006.The UK contribution to this operation consisted of one staff officer in Potsdam and one officer in Kinshasa—hence the operational cost to the UK was negligible  (4) Operation CONCORDIA: March to December 2003

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on negotiations towards agreement pursuant to article 6 of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty, on nuclear disarmament measures; and what assessment he has made of the key obstacles to such negotiations.

Des Browne: The UK is committed to progress in multilateral disarmament and plays a strong role in all the relevant international fora. We continue to press for multilateral negotiations towards mutual, balanced and verifiable reductions in nuclear weapons. The forum responsible for nuclear disarmament is the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, whose achievements include the Comprehensive Test Ban treaty, ratified by the UK in 1998. Our current priority is the early start of negotiations, without preconditions, on a Fissile Material Cut-Off treaty (FMCT). The US tabled a draft treaty text in 2006. The start of such negotiations is subject to the agreement by consensus of all states represented at the conference. While there has been no agreement on a programme of work for the Conference on Disarmament, significant progress was made last year by the conference's presidency, and the UK is committed to building on this momentum.

Preserved Pensions

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate his Department has made of the cost of backdating armed forces preserved pensions before 1975; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: No specific estimate has been made of the cost of backdating armed forces preserved pensions before 1975. However, in view of the fact that this issue is common to other public service schemes, not just the armed forces, the cost, whether to the armed forces or more widely, would be considerable and could run into billions of pounds.

Recruitment

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many recruits joined the armed forces in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Adam Ingram: In 2005, intake from civilian life to the UK regular forces was 17,560(1).
	Between 1 January and 30 November 2006, intake from Civilian Life to the UK regular forces was 19,250(2).
	The number of recruits joining the armed forces can be found in Tri-Service Publication (TSP) 1—"Strength, Intake and Outflow of UK Regular Forces". TSP 1 is published monthly. The most recent publication shows figures for the 12 months to 1 December 2006 and can be found at http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tspl/gender.html. Copies of TSP 1 are also available in the Library of the House.
	(1) Revised. Army officer inflow figures were revised in the 1 June 2006 TSP 1 publication.
	(2) Provisional. Due to the introduction of a new personnel administration system for RAF and Naval Service, data are provisional and subject to review.

Royal Navy: Expenditure

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's total expenditure was on the Royal Navy in each year since 1990; what the projected spend is on the Royal Navy in each of the next 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Defence spending is not broken down by service. Instead, the MOD operates a system of delegated authority to top level budget (TLB) holders. Some are single service but several, for example, Defence Estates and the Chief of Joint Operations support all three services and their budgets are not broken down by service.
	Information about spending by TLBs can be found in the Government's expenditure plans (GEP) 2006-07 to 2007-08, Ministry of Defence (Cmd 6822), as well as in the Ministry of Defence's 2005-06 annual report and accounts. This includes the fleet top level budget, which covers the main operating and personnel costs of the Royal Navy.
	Spending plans for future years are being reviewed in the current departmental planning round, and will also be shaped by the outcome of the comprehensive spending review, which will set the defence budget from 2008-09 to 2010-11.
	The Royal Navy will continue to be funded across a broad spectrum of capabilities that will enable the fleet to meet its operational and standing commitments.

Service Personnel Injuries

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel injured in  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan have (i) lost both legs and both arms, (ii) lost both legs at or above the knee, (iii) lost both legs below the knee, (iv) lost one leg at or above the knee, (v) lost one leg below the knee, (vi) lost both arms at or above the elbow, (vii) lost both arms below the elbow, (viii) lost one arm at or above the elbow, (ix) lost one arm below the elbow, (x) received deep second degree or third degree burns to more than 70 per cent. of the body, (xi) been blinded in both eyes and (xii) been made deaf.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 22 January 2007
	Information on casualties sustained in Iraq and Afghanistan is recorded in terms of clinical severity, so as to aid medical staff in providing the appropriate levels of care at each stage of treatment and in planning for future operations. Casualties are recorded as Very Seriously Injured (VSI), Seriously Injured (SI) or Un-Listed (UL).
	Information on the number of military personnel who have lost limbs due to combat, have received serious burns, or had sensory deprivation is not recorded. To find this number would require the examination of the individual medical records of each patient who has been classified as VSI or SI in Iraq and Afghanistan. These records can only be viewed for non-clinical reasons with the express consent of the individual concerned, to protect patient confidentiality.
	The Ministry of Defence publishes data on battle and non-battle casualties that have resulted from our operations in Iraq from March 2003 and Afghanistan since January 2006. The best centrally available casualty statistics can be found on the Ministry of Defence website at:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/Operations Factsheets
	Between March 2003 and 31 December 2005, 40 UK military and civilian personnel were categorised by the Notification of Casualty (NOTICAS) system as VSI from all causes and 70 personnel have been categorised as SI from all causes in Iraq. These figures will include those who lost limbs due to combat, but also include other VSIs and Sis sustained as a result of combat and non-combat injuries.
	Between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2006, 11 UK personnel were categorised as VSI and 19 as SI from all causes excluding disease. As aforementioned, these figures will include those who lost limbs due to combat, but also include other VSI and SIs from combat and non-combat causes.
	Between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2006, 17 UK personnel were categorised as VSI and 13 as SI from all causes excluding disease. As aforementioned, these figures will include those who lost limbs due to combat, but also include other VSI and SIs from combat and non-combat causes.
	Those classified as VSI have sustained illness or injury of such severity that life or reason is imminently endangered. SI covers those who's condition is of such severity that there is cause for immediate concern, but there is no imminent danger to life or reason.
	It is likely that those who received deep second or third degree burns to 70 per cent. of the body would be included in either the VSI or SI figures, but this would depend on the severity of their injury. It is not possible to say whether all those blinded in both eyes or made deaf would be included.

Snow and Ice

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate the Meteorological Office has made of the number of days of snow fall in  (a) London,  (b) Edinburgh,  (c) Bristol and  (d) Inverness in (i) 2010, (ii) 2020, (iii) 2030 and (iv) 2050.

Adam Ingram: Climate models are not yet sufficiently finely resolved to make predictions of the number of days of snowfall for individual towns or cities.
	During the 21st century, a trend towards reduced snowfall is expected over the UK due to climate change. The predicted changes vary with location, and some parts of the UK could experience periods of increased snowfall, due to the influence of natural climate variability. However, by 2050 a reduction in snowfall can be predicted with some confidence.
	With future investment in supercomputing capacity the Met Office expects to increase the resolution of its climate models and provide more local scale predictions with reduced uncertainty.

UK Armed Forces Veterans Lapel Badge

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people have  (a) applied for and  (b) received the UK armed forces veterans lapel badge.

Adam Ingram: Since the inception of the veterans lapel badge scheme in May 2004, approximately 365,900 applications have been received. As result of these applications approximately 355,500 applicants have been issued with badges.
	The remaining 10,400 were found not to be eligible.

UK Armed Forces Veterans Lapel Badge

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the waiting time is from application to receive a UK armed forces veterans lapel badge.

Adam Ingram: The current waiting time, from receipt of the application form to despatch of the veterans lapel badge, is an average of five working days.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Comprehensive Area Assessments

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if comprehensive area assessments will have  (a) value for money measures,  (b) annual league tables and  (c) star or numerically graded ratings.

Phil Woolas: The new comprehensive area assessment will include a scored judgment on the use of resources drawn from the annual audit of local authorities, which will include a judgment on value for money. A scored judgment on the direction of travel, which assesses the effectiveness of each local authority in driving continuous improvement will continue to be published. Both of these scored judgments will enable comparability between areas, as will the annual publication of performance against the single set of national indicators.

Disability Facilities Grant

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she plans to introduce the proposed changes to the Disability Facilities Grant.

Yvette Cooper: The Government's proposal to improve the Disabled Facilities Grant programme went out for consultation on 18 January, for comments to be returned by 13 April. We plan to issue a response in July.

Disability Facilities Grant

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has  (a) to make the Disability Facilities Grant more flexible and  (b) to reduce the operation of the ring fence in relation to the grant.

Yvette Cooper: The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) consultation paper published on 18 January 2007 contains two proposals to make the DFG funding more flexible, by widening the ring fence or by removing the ring fence around the funding.
	In 2007-08 we will run a small trial widening the ring fence for some authorities. Following an evaluation of the responses to the consultation and the new procedures operating in the pilot areas, a decision about which option to use for national roll-out will be made.

Disability Facilities Grant

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how she plans to increase the role of Home Improvement Agencies in relation to the Disability Facilities Grant.

Yvette Cooper: The Disabled Facilities Grant consultation contains two proposals to develop a stronger role for Home Improvement Agencies (HIAs) in the delivery of housing adaptations:
	1. HIAs to provide a rapid response for the prevention of accidents and promote early release from hospital;
	2. HIAs to provide a full agency service for housing adaptations in county areas.
	The Government will consider the best way to proceed following the consultation and subject to funding negotiations.

Domestic Violence

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what safeguards she is putting in place in establishing the proposed local area agreement under the Local Government Bill to ensure continued delivery of specialist support for victims of domestic violence.

Phil Woolas: The Government are committed to ensuring that victims of domestic violence are adequately protected and supported. We will want to ensure that where local area agreements can contribute to the delivery of the government's and local areas' response to domestic violence they do so. Many local areas have already chosen to include stretch targets relating to domestic violence in their local area agreements. The duties on local authorities and their local partners proposed in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill will facilitate joint working, including by making local area agreements the single mechanism for central and local government to agree targets to reflect the key priorities for improvement in each local area.

Firefighting

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) typical or average hourly call handling capacity and  (b) maximum hourly call handling capacity is expected to be of each of the regional control centres proposed under the FiReControl project.

Angela Smith: The regional control centres are designed to meet or exceed the current Chief Fire Officer's Association (CFOA) performance targets for call handling. These are:
	85 per cent. of calls answered within 7 seconds;
	95 per cent. of calls answered within 10 seconds;
	98 per cent. of calls answered within 20 seconds.
	The capacity of each RCC depends on the number of staff and the shift pattern at any given time. Based on the current indicative staffing numbers and shift patterns, the call handling capacity of each RCC is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Call capacity of regional control centres 
			   08:00-16:00  16:00-20:00  20:00-23:00  23:00-08:00  24 hours  Annual 
			  London   
			 Hourly 240 300 210 150 — — 
			 Period total 1,920 1,200 630 1,350 5,100 1938150 
			
			  South East   
			 Hourly 150 195 150 105 — — 
			 Period total 1,200 780 450 945 3,375 1,286,625 
			
			  South West   
			 Hourly 135 165 135 105 — — 
			 Period total 1,080 660 405 945 6,090 1,127,850 
			
			  East of England   
			 Hourly 135 165 135 105 — — 
			 Period total 1,080 660 405 945 3,090 1,127,850 
			
			  East Midlands   
			 Hourly 135 165 135 105 — — 
			 Period total 1,080 660 405 945 3,090 1,127,850 
			
			  West Midlands   
			 Hourly 150 195 165 120 — — 
			 Period total 1,200 780 495 1,080 3,555 1,297,575 
			
			  Yorks and Humber   
			 Hourly 150 195 165 120 — — 
			 Period total 1,200 780 495 1,080 3,555 1,97,575 
			
			  North East   
			 Hourly 120 150 135 105 — — 
			 Period total 960 600 405 945 2,910 1,062,150 
			
			  North West   
			 Hourly 225 285 195 135 — — 
			 Period total 1,800 1,140 585 1,215 4,740 1,730,100 
			
			  Network   
			 Hourly 1,440 1,815 1,425 1,050 — — 
			 Period total 11,520 7,260 4,275 9,450 32,505 11,864,325 
			  Notes: 1. These figures do not represent the projected requirement. 2. Assumes that a person working a 12 hour shift has the capacity to answer calls for nine of 12 hours. 3. Assumes an average call handling time of three minutes per call (taking account of all call types—emergency, administrative and additional assistance calls).

Local Government

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she plans to suspend the district council elections in England planned for May 2007.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 22 January 2007
	No. The 2007 elections will go ahead.

Milton Keynes Tariff

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether planning gain supplement will be introduced in parallel to the Milton Keynes tariff in Milton Keynes;
	(2)  when she expects the planning gain supplement to replace the Milton Keynes tariff.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government announced at the 2006 pre-Budget report that a workable and effective PGS would not be introduced earlier than 2009. Further announcements on PGS will be made after the current consultation is completed. The Government are considering the interaction of PGS with existing tariff schemes.

TREASURY

Advertising

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on advertising with  The Guardian newspaper, including online advertorials and advertising features, in the latest year for which figures are available.

John Healey: There has been no expenditure recorded on advertising with  The Guardian newspaper in 2005-06 by HM Treasury.

Aggregates Levy

Alex Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many prosecutions have taken place in Scotland for breaches of the law relating to the aggregates levy since its inception.

John Healey: There have been no prosecutions in Scotland for breaches of the law since the aggregates levy was introduced.

Air Passenger Duty

Chris Grayling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the likely impact of the increase in Air Passenger Duty on the development of the aviation industry in the UK.

John Healey: holding answer 25 January 2007
	Econometric analysis of the effects of an Air Passenger Duty increase on passenger numbers and flights was conducted to calculate that increases would deliver carbon savings of O.3 MtC a year by 2010-11. When the effect of non-carbon dioxide emissions are taken into account this has a climate change impact equivalent to saving around 0.75 MtC per year by 2010-11.

Air Passenger Duty

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what basis it was calculated that a doubling of Air Passenger Duty would save between 0.2 MtC and 0.5 MtC per annum by 2010-11; and whether this methodology has been validated by market experience.

John Healey: The Chancellor's 2006 pre-Budget report announced that increases in Air Passenger Duty would deliver carbon savings of 0.3 million tonnes of carbon (MtC) a year by 2010-11. This is a central estimate, based on a projected range of 0.2 to O.5 MtC a year by 2010-11.
	This assessment was based on econometric analysis of the effects of an Air Passenger Duty increase on passenger numbers and flights, which is underpinned by and takes account of market experience.

Christmas Cards

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff hours were spent on preparation of departmental Christmas cards in 2005; how many departmental staff have responsibility for preparing Christmas cards in 2006; what the cost of postage was for official departmental Christmas cards in  (a) 2004 and  (b) 2005; what the cost was of purchasing official departmental Christmas cards in each such year; and how many official Christmas cards were sent out by his Department in each year.

John Healey: Preparing Christmas cards accounts for only a very small proportion of the time of any Treasury official. For information on Treasury Christmas cards in 2004 and 2005, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Hammersmith and Fulham (Mr. Hands) on 31 January 2006,  Official Report, column 398W, and the answer the former Financial Secretary my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Mr. Timms) gave to the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis) on 20 December 2004,  Official Report, column 1403W.

Christmas Trees

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Christmas trees were purchased by his Department and its agencies in each of the last five years; what the cost was of those trees in each year; from where the trees were sourced; what account was taken of the sustainability of the sources of the trees; and by what process the trees were disposed of.

John Healey: One Christmas tree is bought by the Treasury from a sustainable source. It is then recycled.

Departmental Expenditure

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on internal media trainers in each year since 1997, broken down by supplier.

John Healey: The Treasury has no staff employed as media trainers.

Departmental Expenditure

Nick Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much programme expenditure sponsored by his Department was spent via each of the Government offices for the regions in the most recent year for which figures are available.

John Healey: None of the Treasury's programme expenditure for 2004-05 or 2005-06 was spent via the Government offices for the regions.

Departmental Fixed Assets

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which fixed assets his Department sold for more than £10,000 in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06; and what the (i) sale value, (ii) purchaser and (iii) date of sale was of each asset.

John Healey: During 2004-05, the Treasury sold the land and buildings at 100 Parliament street, including antique fixtures and fittings, to HM Revenue and Customs. Proceeds of £22,412,000 were received on 16 March 2005.
	Between 12 January 2005 and 16 February 2005, all of the Treasury's residual post-privatisation shares were sold, via a broker, for £1,706,000.
	There were no disposals of any fixed assets for more than £10,000 during 2005-06.

Executive Agencies

Nick Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how much was spent by each of his Department's executive agencies in each Government Office region in the most recent year for which figures are available;
	(2)  which of the executive agencies of his Department have regional offices outside London;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of expenditure by his Department in each of the Government Office regions in the most recent year for which figures are available;
	(4)  which executive agencies are the responsibility of his Department; what the function is of each agency; and what the budget was of each agency in the most recent year for which figures are available.

John Healey: The Treasury's Executive agency is the Debt Management Office. The functions of the DMO and its budget are described in the Treasury's 2006 departmental report, available from http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/about/departmental_reports/dept_ report2006.cfm and in the DMO's own annual report, available from http://www.dmo.gov.uk/documentview.aspx ?docname=publications/annualreports/dmorep2006 .pdf&page=Annual_Report The DMO has no offices outside London. Chapter 7 of the annual Treasury publication "Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses" details expenditure on services in the regions and countries of the United Kingdom. Identifiable spending in each region of England by Government departmental group for 2004-05 (the latest available data) is contained within table 7.19 of the 2006 edition of PESA. The DMO's expenditure was not identifiable to a specific region or regions.

Expenditure: Brunswick

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what payments have been made by his Department and its agencies to  (a) Brunswick Arts International and  (b) the Brunswick Group in each of the last five years.

John Healey: holding answer 5 December 2006
	There are no records of any payments having been made by the Treasury to either Brunswick Arts International or Brunswick Group or by any of its agencies in the last five years.

Gender Equality

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress he has made in preparations for his Department's implementation of the gender equality duty in April; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The Treasury's progress in preparation for the implementation of the gender equality duty includes, as an employer, having in place effective monitoring systems to ensure employment processes and practices meet the gender equality duty. In issuing guidance to Departments, on the CSR process and PSAs the Treasury has underlined the statutory responsibilities under the equality duties, and refers Departments to the detailed information on implementing the gender equality duty published by the Equal Opportunities Commission.

Gender Equality

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to raise awareness of the gender equality duty across his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

John Healey: Work is under way in the Treasury to ensure the requirements of the forthcoming duty on gender equality are met. The Treasury has in place, and is implementing, a plan to enhance diversity in the Department. As part of this, an internal equalities seminar has been organised and will take place in February 2007. The seminar will raise awareness about all the equality duties and be addressed by speakers from the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Disability Rights Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality.
	Treasury officials are also in contact with the non-departmental public bodies and Executive agencies for which the Chancellor of the Exchequer is responsible to ensure they are taking the necessary steps to meet the requirements of the forthcoming duty on public bodies and raise awareness. All have confirmed that this work is under way.

Gross Value Added

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the change was in gross value added (GVA) per capita in each region and county in each year since 1990; and what the trend growth was of GVA per capita in each region and county between 1990 and 2002.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 2 February 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question about gross value added (GVA) per capita in each region and county in each year since 1990; and what the trend growth was of GVA per capita in each region and county between 1990 and 2002. I am replying in her absence. (116688)
	The Office for National Statistics publishes regional GVA using official statistical geographies known as Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics (NUTS)(1). The NUTS classification does not fully correspond to counties of the United Kingdom. Table 1 shows annual percentage changes in GVA per capita for each NUTS1 (regions and countries) of the UK; Table 2 shows annual percentage changes in GVA per capita for each NUTS2 (groups of counties and unitary authorities) area. Consistent estimates below the NUTS1 level are only available from 1995 onwards. These estimates are expressed at current basic prices, and do not allow for changes in prices over time (inflation) or differences in regional price levels (purchasing power). They do not, therefore, show growth in real or volume terms. ONS does not currently publish such estimates, but they are being developed for NUTS 1 regions as part of the Allsopp programme.
	Table 3 shows average growth, at current prices, for each NUTS1 region for the period 1990-2002. Table 4 shows average growth, at current prices, for each NUTS2 area for the period 1995-2002.
	(1) The Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics (NUTS) provides a single uniform breakdown for the production of regional statistics for the European Union. There are three levels of NUTS in the UK. These are:
	NUTS1: Government Office Regions and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
	NUTS2: 37 areas—individual and groups of counties and unitary authorities.
	NUTS3: 133 areas—generally groups of unitary authorities or districts, also known as local areas.
	The full range of published regional GVA estimates are available on the ONS website:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Productasp?vlnk=14650
	
		
			  Table 1: NUTS 1 gross value added( 1)  per capita annual change 
			  Percentage 
			  GVA per head annual change  1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997 
			 United Kingdom 8.4 4.1 4.1 4.9 5.4 5.0 6.2 5.4 
			 North East 8.0 5.0 4.6 4.1 4.7 4.5 4.3 4.3 
			 North West 8.3 3.7 4.2 4.6 5.3 4.7 5.0 5.1 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 8.0 4.3 3.5 3.9 5.1 5.6 6.0 5.6 
			 East Midlands 7.5 4.0 3.7 4.0 5.6 5.2 5.7 5.5 
			 West Midlands 8.3 3.5 4.2 5.0 6.2 5.4 5.4 6.0 
			 East of England 8.4 3.7 4.3 4.9 5.6 5.0 5.5 5.2 
			 London 8.4 3.9 4.2 5.2 4.4 3.5 6.5 7.2 
			 South East 8.6 5.0 4.6 5.5 5.7 5.1 6.3 6.7 
			 South West 8.4 4.3 3.5 5.0 5.1 5.1 7.0 5.8 
			 Wales 7.6 3.1 4.2 4.4 5.4 5.4 4.3 4.0 
			 Scotland 9.1 5.9 4.7 4.5 5.3 4.8 4.8 4.7 
			 Northern Ireland 9.4 6.3 5.5 6.7 5.7 6.6 6.5 5.2 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage 
			  GVA per head annual change  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 United Kingdom 5.7 4.5 4.7 4.6 5.0 5.5 5.5 3.4 
			 North East 4.4 3.3 3.5 5.0 4.7 5.5 5.9 3.9 
			 North West 5.4 4.3 3.5 4.9 4.5 5.1 5.4 3.4 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 5.2 3.3 3.5 4.8 5.1 5.6 5.1 3.2 
			 East Midlands 4.7 3.1 3.3 5.2 5.0 6.4 6.0 3.7 
			 West Midlands 5.4 3.7 3.7 4.4 4.0 4.9 5.2 3.2 
			 East of England 5.9 3.9 3.7 5.1 5.3 6.1 6.0 3.0 
			 London 8.1 5.1 3.5 3.8 6.3 6.1 5.8 3.1 
			 South East 8.1 5.5 4.7 5.5 5.2 5.3 5.1 2.6 
			 South West 5.9 4.3 3.9 5.4 5.5 6.0 5.7 3.4 
			 Wales 3.8 3.0 3.5 5.1 4.3 5.5 5.4 3.7 
			 Scotland 4.0 3.2 3.4 4.3 5.7 5.9 5.5 3.7 
			 Northern Ireland 5.8 5.3 4.1 4.6 3.9 5.7 5.6 3.0 
			 (1) GVA at current basic prices. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: NUTS 2 gross value added( 1)  per capita annual change 
			  Percentage 
			  GVA per head annual change  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 Tees Valley and Durham 3.5 3.3 3.0 2.4 2.0 3.0 2.9 4.8 5.9 
			 Northumberland and Tyne and Wear 5.0 5.2 5.5 4.0 4.6 6.4 6.0 6.1 5.9 
			 Cumbria 3.6 2.0 1.6 0.5 0.2 3.0 4.5 6.1 5.5 
			 Cheshire 5.2 5.8 5.1 4.3 3.1 4.5 4.0 3.7 4.5 
			 Greater Manchester 5.4 6.0 6.4 4.9 3.7 4.9 4.4 5.4 5.8 
			 Lancashire 3.9 3.2 4.1 4.2 3.9 5.2 4.1 4.6 5.2 
			 Merseyside 5.7 5.9 6.5 4.7 4.2 5.6 5.8 5.8 5.5 
			 East Riding and North Lincolnshire 5.5 3.4 1.7 0.1 2.5 4.8 5.4 5.5 5.0 
			 North Yorkshire 6.0 4.7 4.6 3.2 4.1 5.4 5.8 6.0 5.2 
			 South Yorkshire 6.3 6.2 6.2 3.4 3.9 5.2 5.8 6.1 5.6 
			 West Yorkshire 6.1 6.4 6.3 4.5 3.5 4.3 4.4 5.2 4.9 
			 Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 5.6 5.6 4.4 3.6 3.9 5.6 4.8 6.1 6.0 
			 Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 6.4 6.5 6.3 3.3 2.8 4.3 4.9 6.7 6.4 
			 Lincolnshire 4.3 2.0 1.0 0.7 2.6 6.7 6.2 6.4 4.8 
			 Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 5.1 5.2 6.2 5.4 4.4 4.2 3.0 4.4 4.9 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 5.9 5.4 4.6 2.2 2.6 3.6 5.2 5.7 5.8 
			 West Midlands 5.3 6.6 5.4 3.7 4.0 4.9 3.9 4.7 5.1 
			 East Anglia 4.2 3.1 4.0 2.9 3.3 5.8 5.9 6.2 5.8 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 6.7 7.4 8.6 5.2 4.6 4.6 4.0 5.1 5.8 
			 Essex 5.9 5.5 5.4 3.5 2.9 5.0 6.2 7.4 6.6 
			 Inner London 7.0 7.4 8.0 5.0 3.2 4.4 8.1 6.7 5.8 
			 Outer London 5.7 6.8 8.0 4.6 3.2 2.2 2.8 4.9 5.3 
			 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 6.6 8.2 11.4 7.4 5.2 5.1 5.0 5.8 5.8 
			 Surrey, East and West Sussex 6.8 6.1 6.7 5.2 5.4 6.5 5.3 4.6 4.4 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 6.1 6.6 6.9 3.8 3.9 5.3 5.5 5.4 5.3 
			 Kent 5.1 4.9 5.7 4.1 3.3 4.7 5.2 5.4 5.0 
			 Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and North Somerset 8.1 7.2 7.2 4.0. 3.9 5.6 6.7 6.6 6.1 
			 Dorset and Somerset 6.1 5.4 6.4 5.9 4.0 4.0 3.6 4.7 5.3 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 6.5 4.1 4.5 4.8 5.8 7.4 6.5 6.8 5.9 
			 Devon 5.1 3.0 2.1 3.2 3.2 5.6 4.1 5.5 4.7 
			 West Wales and the Valleys 4.1 2.8 2.2 1.5 2.9 4.5 4.4 5.3 5.4 
			 East Wales 4.5 5.4 5.7 4.8 4.1 5.9 4.2 5.6 5.4 
			 North Eastern Scotland 4.4 4.9 4.6 2.6 4.3 3.9 3.4 3.6 4.6 
			 Eastern Scotland 4.8 4.2 3.4 2.4 2.4 4.0 6.7 6.4 5.4 
			 South Western Scotland 5.2 5.4 4.5 4.0 3.9 4.8 5.6 6.1 5.8 
			 Highlands and Islands 2.6 2.8 3.8 4.4 4.5 4.9 6.1 7.1 5.6 
			 Northern Ireland 5.8 5.8 6.1 4.3 3.8 4.8 5.2 5.7 5.5 
			 (1) GVA at current basic prices. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3: Average gross value added( 1)  growth per capita for NUTS1 regions, 1990-2002 
			  Average GVA growth per capita 1990-2002  Percentage 
			 United Kingdom 5.0 
			 North East 4.4 
			 North West 4.6 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 4.7 
			 East Midlands 4.6 
			 West Midlands 4.7 
			 East of England 4.8 
			 London 5.1 
			 South East 5.7 
			 South West 5.1 
			 Wales 4.2 
			 Scotland 4.6 
			 Northern Ireland 5.5 
			 (1) GVA at current basic prices. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Average gross value added( 1)  growth per capita for NUTS2 regions, 1995-2002 
			  Average GVA growth per capita 1995-2002  Percentage 
			 Tees Valley and Durham 2.9 
			 Northumberland and Tyne and Wear 5.3 
			 Cumbria 2.2 
			 Cheshire 4.6 
			 Greater Manchester 5.1 
			 Lancashire 4.1 
			 Merseyside 5.5 
			 East Riding and North Lincolnshire 3.3 
			 North Yorkshire 4.8 
			 South Yorkshire 5.3 
			 West Yorkshire 5.1 
			 Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 4.8 
			 Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 4.9 
			 Lincolnshire 3.3 
			 Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 4.8 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 4.2 
			 West Midlands 4.8 
			 East Anglia 4.2 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 5.9 
			 Essex 4.9 
			 Inner London 6.1 
			 Outer London 4.7 
			 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 7.0 
			 Surrey, East and West Sussex 6.0 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 5.4 
			 Kent 4.7 
			 Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and North Somerset 6.1 
			 Dorset and Somerset 5.0 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 5.7 
			 Devon 3.8 
			 West Wales and the Valleys 3.2 
			 East Wales 4.9 
			 North Eastern Scotland 4.0 
			 Eastern Scotland 4.0 
			 South Western Scotland 4.8 
			 Highlands and Islands 4.2 
			 Northern Ireland 5.1 
			 (1) GVA at current basic prices.

Hobsbawn Media and Marketing Communications

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what payments have been made by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies to Hobsbawn Media and Marketing Communications Ltd. under that or any of the other names by which the company has been known in each year since 1997.

John Healey: holding answer 5 December 2006
	There are no records of any payments having been made by the Treasury to Hobsbawn Media and Marketing Communications Ltd. or by any of its agencies.

Hospital Births

Jamie Reed: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many births there were in 2005-06 at  (a) the West Cumberland hospital, Whitehaven and  (b) the Cumberland infirmary, Carlisle.

John Healey: pursuant to the reply, 15 January 2007, Official Report, c. 844W
	There was an error in the table given in the letter from the National Statistician and Registrar General which accompanied my written answer. A corrected version of the table is contained in the accompanying letter. The National Statistician and I very much regret this inadvertent error.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 2 February 2007:
	It has been brought to my attention that the figures in the table that appeared with the answer to your question (114638) on births in 2005 at West Cumberland hospital, Whitehaven and the Cumberland infirmary, Carlisle, were accidentally transposed.
	In the table, the number of live births in West Cumberland hospital, Whitehaven in 2005 should have been 1,261 and stillbirths 8. The number of live births in The Cumberland infirmary, Carlisle, in 2005 should have been 1,624 and stillbirths 11. The correct version of the table is attached below. I apologise for any inconvenience caused.
	
		
			  Live births and stillbirths occurring in West Cumberland Hospital, Whitehaven and the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle in 2005 
			  Year 2005  Live births  Stillbirths 
			 West Cumberland hospital, Whitehaven 1,261 8 
			 The Cumberland infirmary, Carlisle 1,624 11

Inflation Figures

John Spellar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's estimate is of the rate of  (a) household inflation,  (b) single pensioner household inflation and  (c) pensioner household inflation.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 2 February 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking for an estimate of the rate of (a) household inflation, (b) single pensioner household inflation and (c) pensioner household inflation. (116944)
	Retail Prices Index (RPI) is defined as an average measure of change in the prices of goods and services bought for the purpose of consumption by the vast majority of households in the UK. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has recently published the RPI for December 2006 as 202.7, giving a percentage change over 12 months of 4.4%.
	The weights for the RPI explicitly exclude data on households where the head of the household is retired (at least 65 years of age for men and 60 years or more for women) and economically inactive, and where at least three quarters of the household's income is from state benefits. Although no general "pensioner household" index exists, separate indices are produced for one-pensioner and for two-pensioner households whose expenditure is excluded from the RPI weights, i.e. those who rely on state pensions and benefit for at least 75% of their income. This roughly relates to around 20% of all pensioners (there are very few private households consisting solely of three or more pensioners): These indices use the same price data as the RPI and are only published for quarters, rather than months. They make no allowance for the fact that pensioners may shop in different outlets and therefore experience different prices.
	The one-person pensioner households index for the fourth quarter of 2006 stands at 176.6, a change of 5.7% over 12 months.
	The two-person pensioner households index for the fourth quarter of 2006 stands at 179.2, a change of 4.4% over 12 months.
	The corresponding value for the RPI for the fourth quarter of 2006, stands at 201.4, a change of 4.0% over 12 months.
	The main differences from the RPI in the construction of the pensioner indices are as follows:
	section weights are derived from information on expenditure by one-pensioner and two-pensioner households respectively;
	canteen meals (including state school meals) and all housing sections are excluded;
	Other items are also excluded, including NHS prescription, dental and eyesight test charges which are not paid by pensioners. For rail and bus fares, special pensioners' rail and bus fare indices are substituted for the normal index household indices to allow for fare concessions available in some areas.
	The exclusion of housing sections was made on the grounds that the price indicators used in the all items RPI would not be appropriate and would overstate the price increases experienced by these pensioners as they would mostly be cushioned against some rises by rebates. Also, it would be technically difficult to compile separate house price indicator items for these households.

Jon Symonds

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what position Jon Symonds holds in  (a) his Department and  (b) HM Revenue and Customs.

John Healey: Jonathan Symonds, the chief financial officer of AstraZeneca plc, holds no position in HM Treasury nor in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
	Alongside other business representatives, he is a member of HMRC's Business Tax Forum, which acts as a mechanism for business to raise operational tax issues with HMRC.

Mental Health

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he is taking to promote actively the employment within  (a) his Department and  (b) public sector bodies for whom he has responsibility of people with mental illnesses in line with the advice and codes of practice produced by the Disability Rights Commission.

John Healey: The Treasury's arrangements, to promote actively the employment, within  (a) the Treasury and  (b) public sector bodies for whom it has responsibility of people with mental illnesses in line with the advice and codes of practice produced by the Disability Rights Commission, are set out in the Treasury's published Disability Equality Scheme available on the Treasury's external website.

Ministerial Policy Instructions

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's mechanism is for recording policy instructions given by Ministers to civil servants.

John Healey: Treasury Ministers are in continuous dialogue with officials as part of the policy process and instruct civil servants as part of this dialogue.

Ministerial Visits

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what dates Ministers in his Department made official visits to Coventry in each year since 1997.

John Healey: holding answer 18 January 2007
	Treasury Ministers' official duties entail visits throughout the United Kingdom.

Pensions

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on stakeholder pensions in each of the last four years.

John Healey: holding answer 25 January 2007
	The Treasury makes employer's contributions in respect of Treasury staff participating in the partnerships pension scheme of the principal civil service pension scheme. The scheme began in 2002-03. The Treasury's employer's contributions payable for the last four completed financial years were as follows:
	
		
			   £000 
			 2002-03 11 
			 2003-04 125 
			 2004-05 140 
			 2005-06 115

Private Finance Initiative

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the performance against budget of  (a) private finance initiative projects and  (b) conventionally procured capital projects for (i) IT projects and (ii) buildings approved by the Office of Government Commerce.

John Healey: holding answer 4 December 2006
	The Office of Government Commerce does not have a projects approval role.

Progressive Beer Duty

David Cameron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the market effects of the progressive beer duty on stimulating and encouraging growth for the brewery businesses of cask-conditioned beer;
	(2)  what response he has made to the representation made to him by a number of breweries enclosed in the letter to him from the right hon. Member for Witney dated 20 February on the impact of the progressive beer duty on their business.

Gordon Brown: I have replied to the right hon. Member's letter. Figures from the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) show that around 130 new breweries have opened since the introduction of small breweries relief, bringing with them over 1,000 new jobs, many in economically deprived rural communities.
	A public consultation on the performance of the scheme was launched in July 2003, and led to the extension of relief to breweries producing between 30,000 and 60,000 per annum. The small breweries relief scheme, like all reliefs, is kept under constant review.

Public Sector Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cash equivalent transfer value is of the public sector pensions of the 10 highest paid members of staff in his Department and its executive agencies; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: Details of the cash equivalent transfer values of pensions for senior staff in HM Treasury and its agencies can be found in the relevant Resource Accounts:
	HM Treasury and Office of Government Commerce HC 1344
	Debt Management Office HC 1504
	Royal Mint HC 1432
	Office for National Statistics HC 1240
	National Savings and Investments HC 1233
	Government Actuary's Department HC 1209
	HM Revenue and Customs HC 1159

Sir Nicholas Stern

Graham Stuart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times he has met Sir Nicholas Stern since the publication of his recent report; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The Chancellor has met Sir Nicholas Stern on numerous occasions and Sir Nicholas accompanied the Chancellor on his recent trip to India.

Third Sector Advisory Panel

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what position Maeve Sherlock holds in his Department; and what remuneration she receives;
	(2)  who the members are of his Department's Third Sector Advisory Panel; what the date of appointment was of each; and what  (a) remuneration and  (b) expenses each has claimed.

John Healey: Members of the independent Third Sector Advisory panel are from the sector representing young volunteers, third sector umbrella bodies and different faith communities. Annex C of the interim report on the Review of the Future Role of the Third Sector in Social and Economic Regeneration published in December 2006 lists the panel members. The panel chaired by Maeve Sherlock (who does not hold any position in the Treasury) has been constituted for 12 months as an ad hoc Government advisory panel. All current members were invited to join the group on a voluntary basis in September 2006. Members are not paid remuneration for attending meetings but all reasonable travel, accommodation and subsistence expenses are paid in line with Government guidance. To date, a total of £305 for travel has been claimed.

Translation Services

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what documents his Department and its agencies translate for people in the UK who do not speak English; into which languages such documents are translated; and what the cost was of producing such translations in each of the last five years, broken down by language of translation.

John Healey: The following is a breakdown of the documents translated by the Treasury and it's agencies over the last five years with costs shown where these are available without incurring disproportionate cost:
	
		
			   Literature Translated and Languages   Costs where available (£) 
			 HMT Welsh versions of:  Euro preparations leaflet  Spending Review, Budget and PBR leaflets  Budget and PBR regional leaflet—Wales — Costs unavailable 
			 
			 GAD Nil — — 
			 
			 DMO Nil — — 
			 
			 VOA Provides translation services for all services provided on request — Costs unavailable 
			 
			 NS&I All literature (brochures and after sales communications) including NS&I website into Welsh 2005-06 9,787 
			   2004-05 19,255 
			   2003-04 11696 
			   2002-03 6,738 
			   2001-02 12,583 
			 
			 Royal Mint Translation of commercial documents and correspondence are provided on request for the Welsh language — Costs unavailable 
			 
			 OGC PRINCE2 documentation into Dutch, Danish, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Chinese; IT Infrastructure Library Best Practice documentation into French, Japanese, Spanish, Brazilian-Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Korean, Simplified Chinese — Products are self-financing and are produced at no cost to OGC 
			 
			 ONS The Office for National Statistics and General Register Office produce translations of a number of different types of documents and forms relating to their statistical and registration business — Costs unavailable 
			  Documents are translated into Welsh including: the Census of Population questionnaire, other Census documentation, Registration information leaflets, business survey questionnaires and responses to Welsh correspondence —  
			  The social survey generic information leaflet and generic advance letter are translated into: Welsh, Gujariti, Hindi, Greek, Bengali, Punjabi, Portuguese, Polish, Chinese, Turkish, Urdu, Somali, and Serbian (advance letter only) —  
			  The International Passenger Survey short self completion questionnaire is translated into: Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), Japanese, Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, German, French and Polish —  
			  The 2001 Census of Population information leaflets and Census questions documents were translated: Albanian/Kosovan, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Croatian, Farsi/Persian, French, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Serbian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese —  
			 
			 HMRC The HMRC Translation Service has arranged translation of forms, leaflets and notices for internal customers to make available to people in the UK who do not speak English — Costs unavailable 
			  The internal customers determine which language versions are required in accordance with their individual external customer requirements. Languages handled by the HM Revenue and Customs Translation Service have included: Albanian, Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dari, Dutch, Estonian, Farsi, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Gujerati, Hausa, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Ibo, Icelandic, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Kurdish, Lao, Latvian, Lingala, Lithuanian, Lugandan, Macedonian, Malay, Maltese, Moldovan, Mongolian, Norwegian, Papiamento, Philipino, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Pushtu, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Sinhalese, Slovak, Slovenian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tamil, Thai, Tigrinya, Turkish, Twi, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese and Yoruba —  
			 
			 HMRC The following literature is translated into Welsh:  Self Assessment, PAYE, End of Year, Employers, Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Sick Pay, Student Loans, Corporation Tax, Tax Credits, Child Benefit, Child Trust Fund, Construction Industry Scheme, National Insurance Contributions, on-line services for PAYE and Self Assessment HMRC 2005-06 11,585.50 
			   IR 2004-05 7,850.73 
			   HMC&E 2004-05 34,891.81 
			   IR 2003-04 19,801.16 
			   HMC&E 2003-04 10,460.91 
			   IR 2002-03 24,263.79 
			   HMC&E 2002-03 11,357.50 
			   — Costs cover externally commissioned work and do not include internally translated materials

Translation Services

Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what services provided by his Department and its related agencies translation services are provided.

John Healey: The Treasury and its related agencies provide translation services on request for the services it provides. Welsh language versions of literature are provided under the Welsh Language Act 1993. Specific services providing translation are:
	 Valuation Office Agency
	The VOA provides translation services for all the services it provides.
	 HM Revenue and Customs
	The HMRC Translation Service arranges and provides translation services internally for the whole Department and the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO). The principal customers are:
	Criminal Investigation material;
	Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office material relating to HMRC and SOCA investigations;
	Tax Office company reports, pay statements, accounts, contracts;
	HMRC Solicitor's Office documentation relating to European Court of Justice cases;
	Centre for Exchange Intelligence;
	Mutual Assurance in Recovery of Debt;
	VAT Information Exchange.

Trend Growth Assumption

David Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to paragraph A.34 of the pre-Budget report, what factors were taken into account in determining that the trend growth assumption remained at 2.75 per cent. of GDP.

John Healey: Analysis underpinning the revision made to the trend growth assumption in the 2006 pre-Budget report is set out in the paper 'Trend growth: new evidence and prospects', published alongside the pre-Budget report. This paper is available on HM Treasury's website:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/53D/CE/pbr06_trend growth_345.pdf

SCOTLAND

British Food

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of food served in buildings occupied by his Department was of British origin in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office has no in-house catering facilities and the provision of food is generally limited to catering associated with official hospitality and supplied by external contractors. Information on the source of the food supplied is not held.

Freedom of Information

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 1768-69W, on freedom of information, where the information that was released by his Department between March to December 2006 and not published on his Department's website is available elsewhere in the public domain.

David Cairns: Between March and December 2006 there were eight FoI releases published on the Scotland Office website. We publish all responses to requests where information is actually released but we do not publish our response to requests where we either do not hold the information, where it is available elsewhere in the public domain, or where the information is withheld because exemptions apply. The location of any relevant information held in the public domain will depend on the nature of the request.

Open Source Software

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what percentage of his Department's computer systems use open source software; what percentage of the systems planned to be installed use such software; and whether he plans to increase the use of open source software in his Department.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office operates an information technology system through the Scottish Executive, which is responsible for the procurement, administration, support and maintenance of the system. Accordingly, the Executive is responsible for sourcing and introducing such software.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Celebrity Big Brother

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when Ministers in her Department last met the  (a) chairman and  (b) chief executive of Channel 4; and when she last discussed race and diversity issues with each.

Shaun Woodward: DCMS Ministers last met the chairman of Channel 4 on 7 June 2006 and the chief executive on 29 November 2006. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have had discussions with both on a wide range of topics relating to the broadcasting industry as a whole.

Cultural Olympiad

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she last discussed the location of the launch of the Cultural Olympiad; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: The start of the Cultural Olympiad, and indeed the whole of the London 2012 Olympiad, occurs at the moment of "handover" during the closing ceremony of the Beijing Games in 2008. It is likely that many groups and communities around London and the rest of the UK will want to mark this moment with celebrations. The formal launch event for the Cultural Olympiad is likely to take place shortly afterwards. Discussions are ongoing between my Department, London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and the Greater London Authority on the details for the launch. This will be an important benchmark on our journey towards 2012, and we know that many organisations are keen to show their support for this event. In particular, we are in discussions with the organisers of the Liverpool 08 celebrations to explore the potential for collaboration with the plans for the Cultural Olympiad.

Television: Licensing

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people in Warrington North received a free television licence in the latest year for which figures are available.

Shaun Woodward: TV Licensing, who administer free television licences for people aged 75 or over as agents for the BBC, are not able to provide geographical breakdowns of the number of free licences issued. However, the number of households with at least one person aged 75 or over claiming the winter fuel payment in the Warrington North constituency in 2005-06 was 4,970, according to Department for Work and Pensions records.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Social Enterprise

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will place copies in the Library of the research she has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on social enterprise.

Edward Miliband: The Government published the Social Enterprise Action Plan on 16 November 2006. Chapter 1 (Why Social Enterprise Matters) contains references to the key government research on social enterprise. A copy of the plan is available in the Library for the reference of Members.
	I am arranging for the following key research and evaluation documents to be placed in the Library for the reference of Members.
	IFF Research (2005): A survey of social enterprise across the UK
	GHK (2005): Review of the Social Enterprise Strategy
	Annual Small Business Survey 2005 (published 2006)
	SBS Household Survey of Entrepreneurship 2005 (published 2006)
	Hull University has been commissioned to undertake a feasibility study developing a method for understanding the social and economic impact of social enterprise. In addition, the Office of the Third Sector, in partnership with the Department for Communities and Local Government, will soon be commissioning some short research papers to contribute to development of policy on social enterprise. I will write to the hon. Member when these have been completed.

TRANSPORT

A555

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has for completion of the A555 relief road; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: This scheme raises funding and affordability issues which have taken longer to resolve than anticipated. An announcement will be made once consideration of these issues has been completed.

Airports

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of when airport capacity would be reached if the rate of increase in flying continues at the present rate and airport capacity remained unchanged.

Gillian Merron: Pressure on airport capacity is greatest in the South East. Heathrow and Gatwick's runways are already full for most of the day, and Stansted is close to capacity in peak hours. Outside the South East, there is greater scope for demand growth to be accommodated by existing capacity.
	The Air Transport White Paper set out a measured and balanced approach to the development of UK air travel. Analysis for the White Paper showed that without additional runways, air passenger demand is likely to become constrained by capacity in the South East before 2010.

Bus Services: West Midlands

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Government spent on bus services in the West Midlands in  (a) 2004,  (b) 2005 and  (c) 2006.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 31 January 2007
	The majority of support for local bus services is provided by local authorities using the Government's Revenue Support Grant (RSG), which is an unhypothecated block grant, and authorities' own resources. It is for each authority to decide how much of their RSG allocation to devote to bus support.
	The Department for Transport has also separately provided specific grant funding to local authorities for bus services through the Rural Bus Subsidy Grant (RBSG), the Rural and Urban Bus Challenge and the Kickstart schemes.
	The following tables show the amounts provided under these grants to authorities in the West Midlands Government Office Region from 2003-04 to 2005-06; the amounts within that total provided to West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority are also shown:
	
		
			  West Midlands GO region 
			   Total (£) 
			 2003-04 7,557,407 
			 2004-05 8,187,109 
			 2005-06 7,523,749 
			 Total 23,268,265 
		
	
	
		
			  West Midlands PTA area 
			   Total (£) 
			 2003-04 761,236 
			 2004-05 900,824 
			 2005-06 676,577 
			 Total 2,338,637 
		
	
	In addition, the Department pays Bus Service Operators Grant to operators of local bus services throughout the country but information on this expenditure is not collated on a geographical basis.
	Local transport authorities also receive Local Transport Plan funding from the Department for capital expenditure on bus infrastructure.

Driving: Mobile Phones

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding his Department has allocated to the recently announced campaign to raise awareness of the change in penalties for using a mobile phone while driving.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to my reply of 30 January 2007,  Official Report, column 249W, to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael).

London Underground: Ministerial Travel

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last used the London Underground on official business; at what time and between which stations the journey took place; when he last used one of London's buses on official business; at what time the journey took place; and where the journey  (a) began and  (b) ended.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 1 February 2007
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State travelled on buses between Westminster and Victoria in January 2007. He travelled from Marble Arch to Westminster via London Underground on official business in November 2006.
	Ministers use public transport wherever possible and practical to complete their journeys taking account of security considerations. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in "Travel by Ministers".

Roadworks

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which local authorities underspent on their road maintenance budgets in 2004-05; and by how much each authority overspent.

Gillian Merron: This local authority budgetary information is not held by the Department for Transport.

Speed Limits: Driving Offences

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in which police force areas speed awareness courses are offered to speeding motorists as an alternative to a fine and endorsement.

Stephen Ladyman: To ensure consistency, the Association of Chief Police Officers has put in place arrangements for a national speed awareness course. 11 police forces in England are currently running the national model, offering it to drivers where it is judged to be an appropriate alternative to prosecution. The 11 police force areas are as follows:
	Devon and Cornwall
	Essex
	Hertfordshire
	Kent
	Lancashire
	Leicestershire
	Norfolk
	Staffordshire
	Thames Valley
	Warwickshire
	Wiltshire
	Additionally seven police force areas offer courses that do not conform to the national model.

Vehicle and Operator Services Agency

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish the findings of Deloitte and Touche's study into the possible outsourcing of work carried out by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency.

Stephen Ladyman: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency study into the possible outsourcing of elements of its work, which includes input from Deloitte and Touche, is expected to be passed to Ministers in spring/summer 2007. The ministerial conclusion will be published after they have considered the recommendations.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Aid: Overseas Education

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid has been granted by the Government for educational programmes overseas in each year since 2003.

Gareth Thomas: holding answer 20 January 2007
	The following table details UK bilateral expenditure on programmes from 2002-03.
	
		
			  Gross public bilateral expenditure on education programmes 
			   £000 
			 2002-03 165,133 
			 2003-04 221,887 
			 2004-05 269,761 
			 2005-06 249,799 
		
	
	These figures exclude expenditure through multilateral organisations.

Commonwealth Education Fund

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much UK Government funding was allocated to educational facilities and activities in  (a) Kenya,  (b) Tanzania,  (c) Ghana and  (d) The Gambia by the Commonwealth Education Fund in each year since 1998.

Gareth Thomas: The Commonwealth Education Fund (CEF) commenced in 2002 as part of an initiative launched by the Chancellor. The UK Government as well as other donors, including non-governmental organisations, have contributed to the CEF since its launch.
	The following table shows the total funds allocated to educational facilities and activities in the four countries (figures provided by the CEF):
	
		
			  £ 
			   Kenya  Tanzania  Ghana  The Gambia 
			 2002 166,408 1,989 14,511 6,002 
			 2003 497,720 34,689 197,258 9,490 
			 2004 675,553 120,783 340,075 86,937 
			 2005 581,190 258,499 388,432 91,807 
			 2006(1) 686,651 484,036 356,654 147,703 
			 2007-08(1) 100,000 150,000 150,000 65,000 
			 Total 2,704,522 1,049,996 1,446,930 433,939 
			 (1) Estimated expenditure

Departmental Expenditure

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on buying, operating and supporting  (a) all commercial software products and  (b) software products produced by Microsoft in each of the last three years.

Hilary Benn: DFID does not maintain central records of purchase, operating and support costs by software product, so to obtain the information would incur a disproportionate cost.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Act of Union

Greg Clark: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what celebrations the Government have organised to commemorate the 300(th) anniversary of the Act of Union.

Bridget Prentice: The anniversary has been marked by a £2 commemorative coin, launched by the Leader of the House and the Secretary of State for Scotland in an event in Whitehall on 16 January. The Government are supporting further commemorative events later in the year: a Treaty of Union debating competition organised by the English Speaking Union; an arts outreach project on the theme "Tales of the United Kingdom" organised by The Prince of Wales Arts and Kids Foundation; and the naming of a mainline train, "Treaty of Union".

Electoral Register

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what additional funding is provided to local authorities with large numbers of houses in multiple occupation to compile the electoral register.

Bridget Prentice: Funding is already allocated by the Government to local authorities to perform registration activities and additional funding has been provided to implement new measures introduced under the Electoral Administration Act, of which maintaining and compiling the electoral register is one.
	£19.9 million has been transferred to English local authorities in 2006-07 and £1.2 million will be transferred to the National Assembly for Wales in 2006-07. The same sums will be transferred in 2007-08. In addition, up to £12.2 million for the new absent vote personal identifier arrangements will be provided over 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Electoral Register

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much each local authority in Lancashire spent per head of population on compiling the electoral register in each of the last five years.

Bridget Prentice: While this information is not collected centrally, Section 67 of the EA Act 2006 has allowed the Electoral Commission to set and monitor performance standards for electoral services and to obtain information on expenditure, including the cost of registration functions by EROs. The Commission intends to devise a model for costing electoral registration services by 1 December 2007, which will help to establish the costs of registration activities in each local authority.

Legal Aid

John Baron: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the outcome was of the Court of Appeal case Goodwill versus British Pregnancy Advisory Service (1996); which barrister acted for the claimant; and how much was spent on legal aid fees, including  (a) the solicitors' fees and  (b) the barrister's fee, broken down by (i) brief fee, (ii) daily refresher and (iii) rate.

Vera Baird: 1 W.L.R. 1397. As to how much was spent on legal aid fees, I refer the hon. Member to my answer to his previous question 8 January 2007,  Official Report, column 17W.

MMR Vaccine: Legal Aid

John Baron: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what public interest was served by the legal aid funding of MMR/MR vaccine litigation.

Vera Baird: The case involved allegations that, as a consequence of a national vaccination campaign, children were very seriously injured because the vaccine in question was defective. With the introduction of the Access to Justice Act 1999 'public interest', as defined in the Funding Code, became an element of the grounds for funding. However, the MMR action began in the 1990s and therefore no formal assessment of 'public interest' was made.

MMR Vaccine: Legal Aid

John Baron: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Legal Services Commission plans to recover legal aid fees paid to barristers employed in the MMR/MR vaccine litigation.

Vera Baird: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has no plans to recover legal aid fees paid to barristers involved in the MMR/MR vaccine litigation. It is for the court to assess the costs to be paid in such cases and is not a decision for the LSC.

MMR Vaccine: Legal Aid

John Baron: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Legal Services Commission proposes to refer the barristers employed in the MMR/MR vaccine litigation to the Bar Council.

Vera Baird: The Legal Services Commission has no plans to refer the barristers involved in the MMR/MR litigation to the Bar Council.

MMR Vaccine: Legal Aid

John Baron: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Legal Services Commission plans to recover fees paid for research funded by legal aid in connection with the MMR/MR vaccine litigation.

Vera Baird: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has no plans to recover legal aid fees paid to researchers involved in the MMR/MR vaccine litigation. It is for the court to assess the costs to be paid in such cases and is not a decision for the LSC.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Government Auctions

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry where his Department publishes information about Government auctions which it arranges or to which it contributes in  (a) Blackpool,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) the North West; and when the next such auction will take place in each area.

Margaret Hodge: Official Receivers use the services of local agents to secure, collect and realise assets. Each local agent would make its own arrangements for publishing these events. Details of the agents used by Official Receivers in the North West can be provided by the Regional Director, Robert Evison, at Boulton House, 17-21 Chorlton Street, Manchester Ml 3HY.

Regional Funding Expenditure

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 22 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1568W, on regional funding expenditure, if he will break down by main budget heading the expenditure of the South East Development Agency in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes during 2005-06.

Margaret Hodge: The following table provides a breakdown of the South East England Development Agency's expenditure in the area of Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes during the 2005-06 financial year.
	There is a variance of £2,138 between the figure provided in the response to the parliamentary question of 22 January 2007 and the total figure below due to programmes crossing administrative borders.
	
		
			  Programme name  Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes expenditure (£) 
			 Enterprise Gateways 113,493.00 
			 Enterprise Hubs 124,998.00 
			 Incubation Physical Infrastructure 119,266.00 
			 Research and Development Grants 128,191.00 
			 Basic Skills—NHS 30,000.00 
			 RURAL—Skills Programme 7,950.00 
			 Area Programme—Milton Keynes 520,000.00 
			 MKOBB Partnership Support 264,166.00 
			 SRB—MKOBB 219,852.00 
			 RURAL—Market Towns 22,500.00 
			 Wired Region (formerly Broadband Capital) 13,000.00 
			 RURAL—Transport and Services 46,386.00 
			 RURAL—Land based Support 93,976.00 
			 RURAL—Local Produce 15,664.11 
			 SE Economic Partnerships 150,000.00 
			 Total 1,869,442.11

UK Trade and Investment

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in which countries the number of UK Trade and Investment staff will be reduced in 2006-07.

Ian McCartney: Staff resources are being increased in the emerging markets in keeping with the commitment in UKTI's strategy "Prosperity in a Changing World" published in July 2006, and reduced in 2006-07 in Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Senegal, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Uganda, USA, Uruguay and Zimbabwe.
	As part of the process of resource redeployments, UKTI is introducing new and different ways of working, including hub and spoke arrangements, to provide a more efficient and effective service to customers in the developed markets.

UK Trade and Investment

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether any UK Trade and Investment posts based in UK overseas missions are planned to be lost.

Ian McCartney: There are no plans to reduce the size of UK Trade and Investment's overseas network as a whole. The commitment to increase resource in the emerging markets as set out in UKTI's Strategy 'Prosperity in a Changing World', published in July 2006, has to be accomplished within UKTI's existing resource envelope. Some UKTI posts are therefore being lost in the developed markets as resource is redeployed to the following emerging markets: Brazil, mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Dubai, Mexico, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Vietnam and Russia.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Bus Services: Comber

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the punctuality record of Translink service number 11 to Comber was in each of the last three years.

David Cairns: When measured against Translink's customer charter standards for bus punctuality, service number 11 to Comber averaged 61 per cent. in 2006 and 81 per cent. in 2005 during peak traffic periods (figures specific to service number 11 are not available for 2004). Outside peak traffic periods, punctuality was 96 per cent. in 2006 and 97 per cent. in 2005.

Early Release

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether persons convicted of terrorist offences in Northern Ireland since 1998 will be eligible for an early release scheme.

Paul Goggins: Persons convicted since the signing on 10 April 1998 of the Belfast agreement for scheduled offences committed prior to that date who are given a sentence of imprisonment of five years or more are eligible to apply for early release under the provisions of the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998. Persons convicted of such offences committed subsequent to that date are not eligible to apply for early release under that legislation.

Fisheries

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how long the consultation period was on the Foyle and Carlingford Fisheries (Northern Ireland) Order 2007; in what media outlets notice of the consultation process was carried; and how many responses were received to the consultation.

David Cairns: The consultation period on the Foyle and Carlingford Fisheries (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 lasted eight weeks, commencing on 17 November 2006 and ending at noon on 15 January 2007. Notice of the consultation was advertised in the  Belfast Telegraph, the  Irish News and the  Newsletter. The consultation documentation was also made available on the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development's website. 63 responses were received in response to the consultation.

Neonatal Care

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many neonatal cots in hospitals in the Province there were on 1 January  (a) 2002,  (b) 1997 and  (c) 1992.

Paul Goggins: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Trust  (a) 1 January 2002  (b) 1 January 1997  (c) 1 January 1992 
			 Altnagelvin Group 18 18 18 
			 Craigavon Area Hospital Group 14 14 14 
			 Newry and Mourne 6 6 6 
			 Sperrin Lakeland(1) 6 6 0 
			 Royal Group of Hospitals 31 21 21 
			 Ulster Community and Hospitals 12 12 12 
			 United Hospitals 16 16 10 
			 (1 )Neonatal unit opened in Sperrin Lakeland Trust in 1993.  Note: It has not been possible to confirm figures for Jubilee Maternity Hospital for 1997 or 1992.  Source: Health and Social Service Trusts

Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the staff of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as other public servants.

Peter Hain: The staff of the Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as other public servants.

Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to make provision for the next police ombudsman in Northern Ireland to be a person of judicial standing.

Peter Hain: The next police ombudsman for Northern Ireland will be appointed following competition conducted under the public appointments process. The appointment will be made on merit, judged against a list of competences appropriate to the post.

Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to appoint the next police ombudsman for Northern Ireland; what the timescale is for such an appointment; and whether it will be made under existing legislation.

Peter Hain: The next police ombudsman for Northern Ireland will be appointed in accordance with the Commissioner For Public Appointments code of practice and in compliance with existing legislation. The appointment process will begin shortly.

HOME DEPARTMENT

ASBOs

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there were for antisocial behaviour in West Lancashire in the last period for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: There is no specific criminal offence of antisocial behaviour so the information requested is therefore not available.

Asylum Decisions

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether applications made to Ministers by hon. Members to reconsider asylum decisions are dealt with by his  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials.

Liam Byrne: Ministers respond to such applications in the light of advice provided by officials.

Asylum Decisions

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether foreign documents submitted to his  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials by hon. Members in respect of asylum cases are translated.

Liam Byrne: Policy on translations is governed by the Asylum Policy Instruction Translations, which is available on the website of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate at:
	http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/asylumpolicy instructions/
	It is the claimant's responsibility to provide material in English or with an English translation. Exceptions may be made where there is a reasonable explanation for the failure to provide a translation, or where not awaiting a translation would adversely affect the decision making process.

Asylum Seekers

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reasonable period has been fixed by law for execution of a removal order on failed asylum seekers; and how long this period was for the Bokhari family of Grimsby detained at Yarl's Wood Detention Centre.

Liam Byrne: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 22 January with the information requested.

Asylum Seekers

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his Department will introduce a grant for local authorities that would reimburse their costs for supporting asylum seekers who have exhausted all avenues of appeal waiting for deportation.

Liam Byrne: There are no plans to introduce an additional grant for local authorities for this purpose in addition to the money already provided by central Government towards the cost of revenue expenditure on social services and education.

Asylum Seekers

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the implications are of the findings of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate pilot schemes at Dover port and Croydon piloting the use of social work intake teams in the asylum process for the resolution of disputes about the age of children seeking asylum.

Liam Byrne: Dedicated social work intake teams were introduced at Dover in 2003 and at the Asylum Screening Unit at Croydon in 2005. The main purpose of the teams is to provide specialist initial assessment and intake services, to improve the resolution of age dispute claims and to improve the identification of vulnerable children from abroad.
	Although no formal evaluation of these projects has been carried out, both Croydon and Kent local authorities and the Immigration and Nationality Directorate have reported that the teams have been successful in resolving age dispute issues and improving the Immigration and Nationality Directorate's child protection procedures.

Asylum Seekers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was claimed in benefits by failed asylum seekers in each of the last 12 months.

Liam Byrne: Costs relating to the provision of accommodation and subsistence payments for asylum seekers are not recorded according to their asylum status and are not available in the form requested.

Asylum Seekers

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in each of the last two years enforcement and removal officers have failed to carry out a removal due to a failed asylum seeker having left their registered address.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Asylum Seekers

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the longest time is which a failed asylum seeker has spent in a detention centre before either deportation or release.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only by examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.

Asylum Seekers

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed Chinese asylum seekers are being held in detention centres pending deportation to China.

Liam Byrne: There are currently 47 Chinese nationals being held in immigration detention centres. The information held does not differentiate between failed asylum seekers and others detained under immigration powers.

Biometric Trials

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has carried out biometrics trials as referred to in Procurement Strategy Market Soundings Update published by his Department in December 2005; and if he will publish the results when the trials are complete.

John Reid: These procurements have yet to start and biometric trialling has, therefore, not yet taken place.

Convicted Foreign Nationals: Deportation

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action his Department has taken to ensure that anybody who is convicted of an imprisonable offence and who is a foreign national is deported.

Liam Byrne: The Director-General of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to the Home Affairs Committee on 12 December 2006 to provide an update on progress in the deportation of foreign national prisoners. In this letter the Director-General outlined that due consideration of deportation takes place in all new cases of foreign national prisoners before release, and that since April 2006, over 1,600 foreign national prisoners had been deported or removed. A copy of this letter is available from the Library of the House and a further update will be provided to the Home Affairs Committee shortly.
	My right hon. Friend The Home Secretary has stated that changes will be made to the law to strengthen the link between deportation and criminality. The legislative proposals will be brought forward shortly in the forthcoming UK Borders Bill.

Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 22 December 2006, on compensation to an illegal immigrant.

Liam Byrne: I wrote to the hon. Member on 29 January 2007.

Crime Statistics: Somerset

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many violent crimes were committed in Somerset in each of the last 10 years, broken down by  (a) basic command unit area and  (b) local authority area.

Vernon Coaker: Information is provided in the table for Avon and Somerset Constabulary at Basic Command Unit (BCU) and Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) levels.
	CDRPs were set up under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and are broadly local authority areas. Data for all crime at BCU and CDRP levels are only available from 2000-01.
	
		
			  Violent Crime—Avon and Somerset by Basic Command Unit 
			  BCU name  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 1,873 1,927 1,854 2,229 
			 Central Bristol 4,800 6,010 5,986 7,096 
			 North Bristol 3,194 2,770 2,774 3,305 
			 North Somerset 2,054 2,113 2,647 3,231 
			 Somerset East 2,323 2,760 3,098 4,090 
			 Somerset West 2,542 2,920 3,645 4,387 
			 South Bristol 2,375 2,981 3,311 3,959 
			 South Gloucester 2,484 2,189 2,498 2,657 
			  Note: From 2002-03, data not comparable with earlier years following the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standards(NCRS) in April 2002 
		
	
	
		
			  BCU name  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 2,961 3,146 
			 Bristol (1) 15,624 15,524 
			 North Somerset 4,005 3,592 
			 Somerset East 5,074 4,090 
			 Somerset West 4,580 3,781 
			 South Gloucester 3,370 3,932 
			 (1 )After April 2004  Note: Boundary changes in April 2004 
		
	
	
		
			  Violent Crime—Avon and Somerset by Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership 
			  CDRP name  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 1,873 1,927 1,854 2,229 2,961 3,146 
			 City of Bristol UA 10,369 11,761 12,071 14,360 15,624 15,524 
			 North Somerset 2,054 2,113 2,647 3,231 4,005 3,592 
			 Sedgemoor 971 1,122 1,365 1,826 1,909 1,636 
			 Somerset East—Mendip 1,020 996 1,289 1,684 2,016 1,585 
			 Somerset East—South Somerset 1,303 1,764 1,809 2,406 3,058 2,505 
			 South Gloucester 2,484 2,189 2,498 2,657 3,370 3,932 
			 Taunton Deane 1,185 1,339 1,752 2,036 2,173 1,760 
			 West Somerset 386 459 528 525 498 385 
			  Note: From 2002-03, data not comparable with earlier years following the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standards(NCRS) in April 2002

Crime Statistics: Somerset

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of  (a) car theft,  (b) theft from a motor vehicle,  (c) domestic burglary,  (d) burglary of all other premises and  (e) robbery there were in Somerset in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (i) basic command unit area and (ii) local authority area.

Vernon Coaker: Information is provided in the table for Avon and Somerset Constabulary at Basic Command Unit (BCU) and Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) levels.
	CDRPs were set up under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and are broadly local authority areas. Data for all crime at BCU and CDRP levels are only available from 2000-01.
	
		
			  Recorded crime—Avon and Somerset by Basic Command Unit 
			   Burglary in a dwelling  Burglary in other building  Robbery  Theft from vehicle  Theft or Unauthorised taking of motor vehicle 
			  2000-01  
			 Bath and North East Somerset 934 1,076 109 1,900 1,016 
			 Central Bristol 1,813 2,004 1,428 3,929 2,000 
			 North Bristol 2,489 1,735 334 3,062 1,784 
			 North Somerset 1,219 1,240 91 2,305 671 
			 Somerset East 1,232 1,833 217 2,347 917 
			 Somerset West 1,606 1,808 96 2,337 713 
			 South Bristol 1,829 1,508 316 3,284 1,949 
			 South Gloucester 1,274 2,205 174 2,754 1,380 
			   
			  2001-02  
			 Bath and North East Somerset 1,63 1,562 205 2,374 1,392 
			 Central Bristol 2,580 2,825 2,806 6,894 2,618 
			 North Bristol 3,298 2,211 759 3,992 2,122 
			 North Somerset 1,475 1,504 131 2,552 752 
			 Somerset East 1,427 2,416 107 3,294 938 
			 Somerset West 1,644 1,729 111 2,776 619 
			 South Bristol 2,560 1,891 509 4,006 2,325 
			 South Gloucester 1,448 2,732 261 2,722 1,415 
			   
			  2002-03  
			 Bath and North East Somerset 1,194 1,430 195 2,132 1,458 
			 Central Bristol 2,435 2,230 1,633 5,079 2,168 
			 North Bristol 2,674 1,743 439 2,935 1,938 
			 North Somerset 1,224 1,449 155 2,189 772 
			 Somerset East 1,737 2,449 186 3,151 1,106 
			 Somerset West 1,579 1,824 107 2,327 794 
			 South Bristol 2,245 2,558 481 3,802 2,125 
			 South Gloucester 1,473 1,938 308 2,651 1,622 
			   
			  2003-04  
			 Bath and North East Somerset 921 1,083 135 1945 948 
			 Central Bristol 1,965 2,063 1,263 4,383 1,546 
			 North Bristol 1,785 1,372 477 2,638 1,499 
			 North Somerset 1,046 1,209 156 1,738 633 
			 Somerset East 1,051 1,905 112 1,993 863 
			 Somerset West 1,047 1,705 103 1,810 706 
			 South Bristol 1,950 2,185 467 3,574 1,459 
			 South Gloucester 1,201 2,076 195 2,222 1,051 
			   
			  2004-05  
			 Bath and North East Somerset 686 1,128 93 1,304 588 
			 Bristol (after April 2004) 5,252 4,980 1,726 9,041 3,756 
			 North Somerset 842 1,029 95 1,377 572 
			 Somerset East 847 1,678 75 1,659 639 
			 Somerset West 783 1,467 88 1,819 613 
			 South Gloucester 1,176 1,628 160 1,736 902 
			   
			  2005-06  
			 Bath and North East Somerset 500 924 114 1,107 613 
			 Bristol (1) 4,324 4,579 1,531 9,083 3,395 
			 North Somerset 744 1,021 90 1,392 471 
			 Somerset East 645 1,423 59 1,233 561 
			 Somerset West 727 1,416 74 1,361 464 
			 South Gloucester 903 1,606 168 1,453 776 
			 (1 )After April 2004  Notes: 1. From 2002-03, data not comparable with earlier years following the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standards(NCRS) in April 2002. 2. Boundary changes April 2004. 
		
	
	
		
			  Recorded crime—Avon and Somerset by Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership 
			   Burglary in a dwelling  Burglary in other building  Robbery  Theft from vehicle  Theft or unauthorised taking of motor vehicle 
			  2000-01  
			 Bath and North East Somerset 934 1,076 109 1,900 1,016 
			 City of Bristol UA 6,131 5,247 2,078 10,275 5,733 
			 North Somerset 1,219 1,240 91 2,305 671 
			 Sedgemoor 825 925 34 1,033 342 
			 Somerset East—Mendip 527 572 181 843 387 
			 Somerset East—South Somerset 705 1,261 36 1,504 530 
			 South Gloucester 1,274 2,205 174 2,754 1,380 
			 Taunton Deane 589 676 49 1,105 304 
			 West Somerset 192 207 13 199 67 
			   
			  2001-02  
			 Bath and North East Somerset 1,563 1,562 205 2,374 1,392 
			 City of Bristol UA 8,438 6,927 4,074 14,892 7,065 
			 North Somerset 1,475 1,504 131 2,552 752 
			 Sedgemoor 731 773 46 1,165 327 
			 Somerset East—Mendip 580 852 25 1,079 304 
			 Somerset East—South Somerset 847 1,564 82 2,215 634 
			 South Gloucester 1,448 2,732 261 2,722 1,415 
			 Taunton Deane 694 772 54 1,398 210 
			 West Somerset 219 184 11 213 82 
			   
			  2002-03  
			 Bath and North East Somerset 1,194 1,430 195 2,132 1,458 
			 City of Bristol UA 7,354 6,531 2,553 11,816 6,231 
			 North Somerset 1,224 1,449 155 2,189 772 
			 Sedgemoor 734 924 47 1,068 393 
			 Somerset East—Mendip 548 962 117 1,459 484 
			 Somerset East—South Somerset 1,189 1,487 69 1,692 622 
			 South Gloucester 1,473 1,938 308 2,651 1,622 
			 Taunton Deane 636 725 55 1,083 318 
			 West Somerset 209 175 5 176 83 
			   
			  2003-04  
			 Bath and North East Somerset 921 1,083 135 1,945 948 
			 City of Bristol UA 5,700 5,620 2,207 10,595 4,504 
			 North Somerset 1,046 1,209 156 1,738 633 
			 Sedgemoor 440 704 38 758 355 
			 Somerset East—Mendip 440 749 57 765 400 
			 Somerset East—South Somerset 611 1,156 55 1,228 463 
			 South Gloucester 1,201 2,076 195 2,222 1,051 
			 Taunton Deane 475 704 54 849 286 
			 West Somerset 132 297 11 203 65 
			   
			  2004-05  
			 Bath and North East Somerset 686 1,128 93 1,304 588 
			 City of Bristol UA 5,252 4,980 1,726 9,041 3,756 
			 North Somerset 842 1,029 95 1,377 572 
			 Sedgemoor 377 680 36 796 319 
			 Somerset East—Mendip 316 727 25 691 272 
			 Somerset East—South Somerset 531 951 50 968 367 
			 South Gloucester 1,176 1,628 160 1,736 902 
			 Taunton Deane 313 552 45 890 248 
			 West Somerset 93 235 7 133 46 
			   
			  2005-06  
			 Bath and North East Somerset 500 924 114 1,107 613 
			 City of Bristol UA 4,324 4,579 1,531 9,083 3,395 
			 North Somerset 744 1,021 90 1,392 471 
			 Sedgemoor 346 608 40 586 242 
			 Somerset East—Mendip 234 576 22 499 230 
			 Somerset East—South Somerset 411 847 37 734 331 
			 South Gloucester 903 1,606 168 1,453 776 
			 Taunton Deane 292 588 31 630 181 
			 West Somerset 89 220 3 145 41 
			  Note: From 2002-03, data not comparable with earlier years following the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standards(NCRS) in April 2002

Crime: Somerset

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recorded crimes there were in Somerset in each of the last 10 years, broken down by local authority area.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 1 February 2007
	Information is provided in the table for Avon and Somerset constabulary at crime and disorder reduction partnership (CDRP) level.
	CDRPs were set up under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and are broadly local authority areas. Data for all crime at this level are only available from 2000-01.
	
		
			  Recorded crime—Avon and Somerset crime and disorder reduction partnerships 
			   2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 13,534 17,591 16,771 15,148 14,850 14,430 
			 City of Bristol UA 64,518 83,567 76,765 74,236 71,169 70,793 
			 North Somerset 14,163 15,845 16,503 16,086 16,596 15,978 
			 Sedgemoor 8,094 8,578 8,884 8,513 8,628 7,528 
			 Somerset East—Mendip 8,186 6,993 9,454 8,518 8,148 6,873 
			 Somerset East—South Somerset 9,791 12,939 12,843 11,674 11,991 10,029 
			 South Gloucester 18,093 20,171 20,421 19,007 18,472 19,270 
			 Taunton Deane 8,311 9,066 9,663 9,166 9,097 7,816 
			 West Somerset 2,297 2,446 2,562 2,595 2,259 2,159 
			  Note: From 2002-03, data not comparable with earlier years following the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standards(NCRS) in April 2002

Data Sales

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have sold data from databases which they operate to private organisations in the last three years.

Liam Byrne: The Department and its agencies have not sold data from its databases to private organisations in the past three years.

Dispersal Orders

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many dispersal orders have been authorised in each month since April 2006.

John Reid: Data on dispersal authorisations since April 2006 are not yet available.

Dispersal Orders

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) individuals have been dispersed and  (b) under 16 year-olds have been removed to their home in each month since April 2006.

John Reid: Data on the number of individuals dispersed and how many under 16's have been removed to their home address since April 2006 are not yet available.

Driving Offences

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the maximum penalty is that can be imposed on a motorist driving  (a) without insurance and  (b) without a valid driving licence.

Vernon Coaker: For driving without insurance the maximum penalty is a fine at level five on the standard scale, with discretionary disqualification and endorsement of six to eight penalty points on the driver's licence. For driving without a valid driving licence the maximum penalty is a fine of level three on the standard scale, with discretionary disqualification and obligatory endorsement of three to six penalty points if the driving would not have been in accordance with any licence that could have been issued to the driver.

Driving Offences: Speed Limits

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many motorists have attended speed awareness courses as an alternative to receiving a fine and endorsement for speeding.

Stephen Ladyman: I have been asked to reply.
	Speed awareness courses are offered at the discretion of police forces as an alternative to prosecution. This information is not therefore held centrally.

Foreign National Criminals

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign nationals have  (a) been convicted and  (b) accepted a caution for an offence in each year since 1997, broken down by country of origin.

John Reid: The latest available information was set out in my statements to the House of Commons dated 10 January and 16 January, and in the Home Office statement issued on 13 January.

Highly-skilled Migrants Programme

Martin Salter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the number of workers on the highly skilled migrants programme accepted on the original criteria who will no longer have leave to remain in the UK following the planned changes.

Liam Byrne: People who were granted leave under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) before the changes will be able to complete that period of leave. We anticipate that most of those people who then wish to extend their leave after the changes and who are economically active in the United Kingdom will be able to extend their leave under the revised Immigration Rules for the HSMP, to succeed under the transitional arrangements for self-employed people, or to switch into work permit employment. We will be evaluating the impact of the changes.

Hit and Run

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hit and run incidents were reported in each of the last five years; in how many of the cases  (a) the driver was subsequently identified and  (b) a prosecution for failing to stop at the scene of an accident was brought; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Information on the number of hit and run incidents that have led to court proceedings is not collected centrally.
	Available information taken from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform and given in the table shows the number of prosecutions for the offence of 'failing to stop after an accident' under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 170 (4) from 2000 to 2004 (latest available). The data do not distinguish between those offences which resulted in injury from those which resulted in damage or both.
	2005 data will be available later this year.
	
		
			  Proceedings at magistrates courts for accident offences( 1) , England and Wales, 2000-2004 
			   Number of offences 
			 2000 26,692 
			 2001 27,769 
			 2002 28,067 
			 2003 28,871 
			 2004 27,078 
			 (1 )Aiding, abetting, causing or permitting accident offences under the RTA88 s. 170(4).  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings, in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. Work is under way to ensure that the magistrates courts case management system currently being implemented by the Department for Constitutional Affairs reports all motoring offences to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. This will enable more complete figures to be disseminated. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many temporary staff were employed in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis) in answer to question number 68721 on 25 May 2006,  Official Report, column 2019W.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in the Immigration and Nationality Directorate were employed in the assessment of asylum claims in each of the last 12 weeks.

Liam Byrne: Internal management information indicates that the number of full-time equivalent staff employed in the assessment of asylum claims in each of the last 12 weeks was as shown in the table.
	The numbers quoted include those contributing to the initial decision making process plus those dealing with follow-up work.
	
		
			  Week  Number of FTE staff( 1) 
			 30 October 2006 247 
			 6 November 2006 245 
			 13 November 2006 243 
			 20 November 2006 243 
			 27 November 2006 237 
			 4 December 2006 236 
			 11 December 2006 238 
			 18 December 2006 279 
			 25 December 2006 278 
			 1 January 2007 274 
			 8 January 2007 271 
			 15 January 2007 268 
			 (1) Rounded up to the nearest whole number.

Immigration and Nationality Directorate

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the backlog was of service complaints against the Immigration and Nationality Directorate in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Accurate figures cannot be provided because data are not held centrally but on various databases across IND. To extract the information from all of the different databases across IND and collate would incur a disproportionate cost.
	This will be one of the issues addressed within the complaints change programme which will overhaul IND's complaints processes in line with Cabinet Office guidance and the recommendations of the Complaints Audit Committee. The complaints change programme has already been launched and the necessary changes will happen over the next 15 months.
	As part of this programme, a new single database will be set up to capture and monitor all complaints across IND and to provide accurate and readily accessible information.

Inappropriate Websites

Linda Riordan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on EU co-operation on the regulation and control of inappropriate websites.

Liam Byrne: At the Justice and Home Affairs Council, held on 4-5 December 2006 in Brussels, the Home Secretary emphasised the need to protect children, and others, from violent material and set out the UK's specific concerns about extreme pornographic material. With regard to child abuse images, the Home Secretary raised what more could be done at the EU level to tackle child abuse images.
	Domestically, the UK is proposing to make the possession of a limited range of violent and extreme pornography material illegal, and would like other member states to consider how they control the publication and distribution of such material.

Joseph Deele Omanga

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the letter of 6 September 2006 from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary on the asylum application of Joseph Deele Omanga (Home Office reference 01066013), when he expects to provide a substantive response to the letter of 4 April 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: I wrote to the hon. Member on 31 January 2007.

Kenya

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ask the police to initiate an inquiry into former colonial officials resident in the UK alleged to be responsible for the deaths and torture of Kenyans during the 1950s Kenyan emergency; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: It is an operational matter for the police to investigate evidence of any criminal offence.

Mental Illness: Employment

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to promote actively the employment within  (a) his Department and  (b) public sector bodies for whom he has responsibility of people with mental illnesses in line with the advice and codes of practice produced by the Disability Rights Commission.

Liam Byrne: Under the disability equality duty introduced by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, my Department and the public sector bodies for which I am responsible are required to publish and implement disability equality schemes. These are plans setting out how we will carry out the disability equality duty, monitor, and report on progress. In particular this includes our arrangements for gathering information on the effect of our policies and practices on the recruitment, development and retention of our disabled employees, including those with mental health conditions, and making use of that information.
	Further details of these arrangements are set out in the Department's disability equality scheme published on 4 December 2006 and are available on http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/ho-disability-equality-scheme/.

Mentally Disordered Offenders

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what definition he uses of a mentally disordered offender.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Mentally disordered offender is not a term with any statutory meaning, but the Home Office uses it to denote anyone convicted of an offence (or disposed of by the court following a finding under the Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act 1964) and then dealt with under powers in Part III of the Mental Health Act 1983.
	Clause 29 of The UK Borders Bill, introduced on 26 January, creates a number of exceptions to the automatic deportation procedure for foreign criminals. One of these, Exception 5, is where certain provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983 or corresponding legislation in Scotland or Northern Ireland apply (the foreign criminal is a "mentally disordered offender"). This is because we think it is right that full consideration is given on a case by case basis to the complex issues surrounding the deportation of people falling within this category rather than deportation being automatic.

Mr Boukhalfi

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the application by Mr. Boukhalfi (HO ref. B1050245) for indefinite leave to remain in the UK, made on 4 January 2006, to be determined.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 30 January 2007
	I wrote to the hon. Member regarding this matter on the 29 January 2007.

MSC Napoli

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will compensate the Devon and Cornwall constabulary for costs incurred policing the beached cargo from the MSC Napoli; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 26 January 2007
	Policing beaches within a force area is the operational responsibility of the police and is therefore an appropriate charge to the budget of the local force. Police authorities are expected to hold contingency reserves to meet exceptional events.
	If additional costs incurred by the force are of a magnitude that puts at risk their operational capability, after use of any contingency reserves, then they may apply to the Home Office for special grant support.

Police

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) full-time, fully trained police officers and  (b) police community support officers Norfolk constabulary had in each of the last 10 years.

Tony McNulty: The available data are given in the tables.
	
		
			  Police officer strength( 1)  (FTE)( 2)  by police force as at 31 March 1997 to 31 March 2006 
			  Norfolk police force  Full-time equivalent 
			 31 March 1997 1,432 
			 31 March 1998 1,430 
			 31 March 1999 1,381 
			 31 March 2000 1,381 
			 31 March 2001 1,420 
			 31 March 2002 1,468 
			 31 March 2003 1,499 
			 31 March 2004 1,510 
			 31 March 2005 1,544 
			 31 March 2006 1,557 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Full-time equivalent excludes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. 
		
	
	
		
			  Police community support officer strength( 1 ) (FTE)( 2)  by police force as at 31 March 2003 to 31 March 2006( 3) 
			  Norfolk police force  Full-time equivalent 
			 31 March 2003 12 
			 31 March 2004 33 
			 31 March 2005(4) 68 
			 31 March 2006(4) 65 
			 (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Full-time equivalent includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (3) Police community support officers were introduced in statute in 2002, therefore data are not available prior to 2002-03. (4) Strength figures as at 31 March 2005 onwards include those staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. Therefore these figures are not comparable with those provided for other years in the table.

Police Community Support Officers

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police community support officers and  (b) police officers were recruited to West Lancashire police force in each year since 2002.

Tony McNulty: The available data for Lancashire police force are given in the following table:
	
		
			  Police community support officer and police officer recruits to Lancashire police from 2002-03 to 2005-06( 1)  (FTE)( 2) 
			  Recruits  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 PCSOs 94 7 66 56 
			 Police Officers 224(3) 332(4) 160(4) 209(4) 
			 (1) Financial year runs 1 April to 31 March. (2) Full-time Equivalent. This figure includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. (3) Not comparable with later years; data include transfers from other England and Wales forces and officers returning after a period of secondment (4) Data include transfers from other England and Wales forces but do not include officers returning after a period of secondment.

Police Riot Protection

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funds have been allocated to the Home Office Scientific Development Branch to develop requirements and test methods for police riot protection.

John Reid: Over a three year period (2004 to 2007) approximately £200,000 has been allocated for the development and publishing of HOSDB standards for public order protection.

Police: West Midlands

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when he expects the 101 programme to be implemented in the West Midlands police area;
	(2)  how much has been spent on publicising the 101 programme since its introduction;
	(3)  how many calls were handled by the five local authorities participating in the 101 programme in 2006.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 1 February 2007
	Evaluation and assessment of the introduction of the single non-emergency number, 101, in the five Wave 1 Police and Local Authority Partnership areas are currently ongoing. Plans for further programme development beyond Wave 1 Partnership areas have been deferred pending the outcome of this evaluation and assessment to be completed in autumn 2007.
	The 101 service was introduced between May and September 2006 in the five Wave 1 Partnership areas involving 30 local authorities and five police forces covering approximately 10 per cent. of the population of England and Wales. £1.3 million was spent on publicising the new service locally across these areas and informing the public how it should be used.
	Since this introduction until the end of December 2006, 101 call advisers have handled more than a quarter of a million (277,272) calls from the public in their local areas with high levels of customer satisfaction and positive feedback on the service received.

Probation Service

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time equivalent probation officers were employed in each probation area in each of the last 10 years.

John Reid: Information is not available for the full period requested. Data collected prior to 1 April 2003 are not directly comparable with the more accurate figures collected since that time. The figures presented show full-time equivalent (FTE) figures at the close of each quarter from 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2006.
	In addition, the information required to break down the number of Probation Officers in post by area in quarter 1 2003-04 is no longer held. As a result, only the total figure has been provided for this period.
	
		
			  Probation officers in post by area 
			   2003-04 
			   Quarter 1  Quarter 2  Quarter 3  Quarter 4 
			 Avon and Somerset — 96.40 112.90 110.40 
			 Bedfordshire — 57.30 61.10 62.60 
			 Cambridgeshire — 75.50 85.35 75.97 
			 Cheshire — 116.10 112.30 114.30 
			 Cumbria — 59.90 59.90 56.30 
			 Derbyshire — 117.60 106.70 102.70 
			 Devon and Cornwall — 136.80 149.35 146.30 
			 Dorset — 63.00 68.00 63.10 
			 Durham — 72.00 86.50 87.50 
			 Dyfed Powys — 46.70 46.30 43.70 
			 Essex — 106.00 111.20 117.50 
			 Gloucestershire — 52.30 56.40 55.40 
			 Gwent — 69.10 68.10 69.20 
			 Hampshire — 155.90 173.59 178.60 
			 Hertfordshire — 63.70 65.90 71.99 
			 Humberside — 121.78 139.78 138.78 
			 Kent — 138.35 148.55 154.95 
			 Lancashire — 243.20 243.60 246.10 
			 Leicestershire — 126.00 125.00 130.70 
			 Lincolnshire — 64.20 61.60 60.60 
			 London — 795.70 840.50 862.50 
			 Greater Manchester — 414.70 399.80 387.58 
			 Merseyside — 243.90 241.50 238.44 
			 Norfolk — 72.68 76.88 84.18 
			 North Yorkshire — 66.20 75.80 75.60 
			 North Wales — 58.70 67.10 67.50 
			 Northamptonshire — 69.00 65.00 63.00 
			 Northumbria — 223.30 252.26 253.10 
			 Nottinghamshire — 166.00 171.50 160.90 
			 South Wales — 155.60 157.60 172.30 
			 South Yorkshire — 183.50 203.00 202.40 
			 Staffordshire — 148.70 147.10 146.20 
			 Suffolk — 82.25 81.75 85.15 
			 Surrey — 56.70 63.90 66.55 
			 Sussex — 121.20 123.30 126.60 
			 Teesside — 64.60 76.60 74.85 
			 Thames Valley — 163.00 176.70 182.00 
			 Warwickshire — 55.00 55.00 53.21 
			 West Mercia — 123.31 125.46 125.90 
			 West Midlands — 374.50 429.20 406.82 
			 West Yorkshire — 275.57 310.48 313.86 
			 Wiltshire — 41.90 48.90 50.10 
			 Total 5,831.10 5,937.84 6,271.45 6,285.43 
		
	
	
		
			   2004-05 
			   Quarter 1  Quarter 2  Quarter3  Quarter 4 
			 Avon and Somerset 151.90 148.10 153.70 153.30 
			 Bedfordshire 56.40 58.00 61.00 66.00 
			 Cambridgeshire 74.90 75.60 78.27 76.27 
			 Cheshire 109.60 113.80 113.90 114.65 
			 Cumbria 53.60 52.90 57.50 58.00 
			 Derbyshire 112.90 125.60 109.20 107.50 
			 Devon and Cornwall 141.76 141.60 149.10 150.30 
			 Dorset 60.86 62.56 66.79 70.29 
			 Durham 87.50 89.50 96.70 95.83 
			 Dyfed Powys 43.20 42.70 49.10 46.70 
			 Essex 116.80 112.90 120.11 120.20 
			 Gloucestershire 55.40 54.99 59.69 59.19 
			 Gwent 65.60 65.10 67.30 65.30 
			 Hampshire 175.90 168.50 190.40 188.90 
			 Hertfordshire 71.99 72.70 71.70 75.10 
			 Humberside 135.39 131.89 147.91 147.68 
			 Kent 152.15 144.40 146.20 145.53 
			 Lancashire 243.50 237.10 253.20 250.40 
			 Leicestershire 134.20 140.80 138.20 134.70 
			 Lincolnshire 57.60 64.00 63.60 64.40 
			 London 864.80 874.60 835.41 834.54 
			 Greater Manchester 370.20 373.20 404.40 406.26 
			 Merseyside 242.03 237.43 268.43 267.24 
			 Norfolk 80.88 77.68 79.85 82.60 
			 North Yorkshire 78.30 75.20 88.60 93.60 
			 North Wales 71.80 72.80 84.20 83.20 
			 Northamptonshire 59.00 65.00 66.63 72.54 
			 Northumbria 251.80 274.06 267.95 263.76 
			 Nottinghamshire 156.18 168.02 166.11 165.91 
			 South Wales 169.60 169.70 195.90 191.48 
			 South Yorkshire 196.80 195.50 212.70 208.10 
			 Staffordshire 148.40 156.40 152.30 152.70 
			 Suffolk 82.25 82.80 83.00 83.40 
			 Surrey 62.50 62.10 68.30 66.67 
			 Sussex 128.41 127.79 128.74 128.84 
			 Teesside 74.35 84.85 87.65 87.24 
			 Thames Valley 175.00 169.30 176.40 175.80 
			 Warwickshire 52.80 55.15 51.33 52.93 
			 West Mercia 121.84 142.58 141.30 138.10 
			 West Midlands 403.97 447.50 444.50 446.30 
			 West Yorkshire 321.16 320.58 343.37 331.88 
			 Wiltshire 44.10 41.50 44.30 43.30 
			 Total 6,257.32 6,376.48 6,584.94 6,566.63 
		
	
	
		
			   2005-06 
			   Quarter 1  Quarter 2  Quarter3  Quarter 4 
			 Avon and Somerset 154.40 158.80 166.20 174.20 
			 Bedfordshire 65.00 63.00 65.30 65.40 
			 Cambridgeshire 73.70 77.07 79.30 76.77 
			 Cheshire 121.00 134.00 124.30 118.21 
			 Cumbria 59.20 56.80 63.30 62.00 
			 Derbyshire 108.50 117.00 119.50 118.10 
			 Devon and Cornwall 151.10 148.50 165.40 151.60 
			 Dorset 67.64 67.43 75.60 70.96 
			 Durham 91.50 86.70 99.50 96.90 
			 Dyfed Powys 48.10 55.10 55.70 45.30 
			 Essex 115.00 111.30 120.80 124.40 
			 Gloucestershire 55.76 54.76 59.80 50.99 
			 Gwent 52.10 63.10 65.30 88.10 
			 Hampshire 179.90 180.70 197.40 185.30 
			 Hertfordshire 71.10 70.20 73.20 65.40 
			 Humberside 146.91 145.01 161.80 161.29 
			 Kent 142.13 132.34 154.10 147.80 
			 Lancashire 241.10 238.70 253.70 254.22 
			 Leicestershire 136.10 152.50 153.20 141.10 
			 Lincolnshire 63.10 70.50 67.10 63.50 
			 London 820.07 829.74 821.40 797.30 
			 Greater Manchester 402.21 385.81 385.80 486.09 
			 Merseyside 264.24 262.20 281.20 285.15 
			 Norfolk 80.16 79.89 86.40 83.97 
			 North Yorkshire 88.60 79.50 89.60 86.09 
			 North Wales 83.70 89.10 87.30 86.40 
			 Northamptonshire 70.99 69.91 68.30 81.60 
			 Northumbria 259.16 257.20 283.30 257.75 
			 Nottinghamshire 161.01 155.60 168.20 167.60 
			 South Wales 188.50 213.20 215.10 196.10 
			 South Yorkshire 203.90 203.80 226.80 212.60 
			 Staffordshire 151.60 165.10 160.60 151.80 
			 Suffolk 83.58 80.96 86.10 84.49 
			 Surrey 69.85 68.75 70.00 72.50 
			 Sussex 129.70 126.51 147.10 136.63 
			 Teesside 95.90 95.00 104.10 99.40 
			 Thames Valley 164.00 171.40 180.20 170.30 
			 Warwickshire 54.06 60.77 59.30 50.66 
			 West Mercia 137.10 150.10 144.50 150.00 
			 West Midlands 443.50 441.50 493.50 470.10 
			 West Yorkshire 335.37 320.56 361.00 349.26 
			 Wiltshire 39.30 39.30 54.20 56.20 
			 Total 6,469.84 6,529.41 6,894.50 6,793.53

Race Equality Impact Assessment

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average cost of a race equality impact assessment is; and on how many occasions draft legislation has been modified as the result of such an assessment since inception.

Liam Byrne: Race equality impact assessments form a part of normal policy development and it is not possible without incurring disproportionate cost to identify the costs attributable to the impact assessment alone.

Temporary Admission

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were granted temporary admission to the UK in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost as a full search of individual files and records over the last five years would have to be conducted.

Victims Commissioner

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has issued to police authorities in England and Wales on the implementation of victim support strategies during investigations undertaken by police.

Tony McNulty: A variety of guidance documents have been issued to police authorities and forces in relation to support for victims.
	The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, which came into effect on 3 April 2006, places a number of statutory requirements on forces to support victims during an investigation. Under the Code, police forces are required to:
	take all reasonable steps to identify vulnerable or intimidated victims;
	provide victims with, information about the criminal justice system;
	update victims within set timescales about key developments in the investigation;
	inform victims if no further action is to be taken in relation to an investigation;
	refer victims to Victim Support, unless they are victims of certain offences or ask the police not to pass on their details.
	Victim Support and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) have also put in place a joint protocol setting out the steps each will take to ensure that referrals take place and that they are compliant with the Data Protection Act 1988.
	In April 2006 the Home Office also issued a Citizen Focus Policing Good Practice Guide, which set out good practice examples on all aspects of customer service including supporting victims.
	ACPO have also introduced the Professionalising the Investigative Process (PIP). The PIP Core Investigative Doctrine provides definitive national advice for all investigators on the key principles of criminal investigation, irrespective of the nature or complexity of the investigation. The Victim and Witness Strategy section of the PIP Doctrine outlines the process for dealing with victims and witnesses during the investigative process and it also makes reference to the existing detailed guidance and best practice documents along with further sources of relevant information.

Victims Commissioner

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria are used to establish the eligibility of a victim of crime for the enhanced service as set out in the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Section 4 of the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime sets out the criteria for establishing if a victim is vulnerable or intimidated and, therefore, eligible for enhanced services under the code. It states:
	4.1 Some services under this Code are to be provided only to vulnerable or intimidated victims based on the definitions given by sections 16 and 17 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. For the purposes of this Code, vulnerable and intimidated victims are defined as such at the time of the offence, rather than at the time of hearing as specified in the 1999 Act.
	 Vulnerable victims
	4.2 For the purposes of the Code a victim of crime is eligible for an enhanced service under the Code:
	(a) If under the age of 17 at the time of the offence; or
	(b) If the service provider considers that the quality of evidence given by the victim is likely to be diminished by reason of any circumstances falling within 4.3.
	4.3 The circumstances falling within this subsection are:
	(a) That the victim
	(i) suffers from mental disorder within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1983,
	(ii) otherwise has a significant impairment of intelligence and social functioning;
	(b) that the victim has a physical disability or is suffering from a physical disorder.
	4.4 In determining whether a victim falls within the definition in paragraph 4.3 the service provider must consider any views expressed by the victim.
	4.5 In this Section references to the quality of a victim's evidence are to its quality in terms of completeness, coherence and accuracy; and for this purpose "coherence" refers to a victim's ability in giving evidence to give answers which address the questions put to the victim and can be understood both individually and collectively.
	 Intimidated victims
	4.6 For the purposes of the Code a victim of criminal conduct is eligible for an enhanced service under the Code if the service provider is satisfied that the quality of evidence given by the victim is likely to be diminished by reason of fear or distress on the part of the victim in connection with testifying in the proceedings.
	4.7 In determining whether a victim falls within the definition in paragraph 4.6 the service provider must take into account, in particular:
	(a) the nature and alleged circumstances of the offence to which the proceedings relate;
	(b) the age of the victim;
	(c) such of the following matters as appear to the service provider to be relevant, namely:
	(i) the social and cultural background and ethnic origins of the victim,
	(ii) the domestic and employment circumstances of the victim, and
	(iii) any religious beliefs or political opinions of the victim;
	(d) any behaviour towards the victim on the part of:
	(i) the accused,
	(ii) members of the family or associates of the accused, or
	(iii) any other person who is likely to be an accused or a witness in the proceedings.
	4.8 In determining whether a victim falls within the definition in paragraph 4.6, the service provider must in addition consider any views expressed by the victim.
	4.9 The complainant in respect of a sexual offence or domestic abuse and the relatives of those who have died as a result of criminal conduct are eligible for an enhanced service under the Code unless the victim has informed the service provider of the victim's wish not to be so.
	4.10 A victim's vulnerability may change during the course of an investigation due to health, intimidation or other reason. Service providers must give the victim the opportunity to be provided with an enhanced service if such a change in circumstance is brought to their attention.
	4.11 All organisations with responsibilities under the Code should identify victims as vulnerable or intimidated as defined by this Code. Once the service provider has identified a victim as vulnerable or intimidated, that service provider must ensure that this information is passed on as necessary to other organisations with responsibilities in this Code.

Yarl's Wood

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what  (a) educational support,  (b) counselling and  (c) opportunities for sport are available to young children detained at Yarl's Wood.

Gerry Sutcliffe: A creche is available for under 5s and is open seven days per week. Schooling is provided for children aged 5 to 16 years Monday to Friday. Activity classes are laid on in the sports hall each day and there is also an outside playground and sports courts. There is a youth worker and a youth club which opens seven days per week. A counsellor and a social worker are on site Monday to Friday as well as a full time Children's Service Manager.

Youth Community Forums

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he plans to make a requirement on police authorities to hold regular youth community forums.

Tony McNulty: Section 96 of the Police Act places a duty on police authorities to obtain the views of the community on policing in their area. It is a matter for each police authority at a local level to decide how this duty is carried out. There are currently no plans to make a requirement on police authorities to hold regular youth community forums.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Absorbent Hygiene Products Manufacture Association

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library copies of the minutes of the  (a) 18 January 2006 and  (b) 21 November 2006 meetings between his Department and the Absorbent Hygiene Products Manufacture Association.

Ben Bradshaw: No minutes were taken at either of the meetings referred to. Both were of an informal nature and were mainly concerned with an exchange of information on developments on disposable nappies relating to the continued weight reduction and new emerging waste management technologies.

Biomass

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department has undertaken on the extent of domestic production of  (a) bio-fuel and  (b) bio-plastic.

Ian Pearson: The DEFRA-sponsored National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) has carried out some research into existing, and proposed future, biofuel production capacity in the UK.
	No bioethanol fuel is produced in the UK at the moment, although various plants are currently being constructed or are at the planning stage, which it is estimated could have a total production capacity of over 835 million litres.
	Biodiesel is produced in the UK from a mix of feedstocks, including UK-sourced recycled waste vegetable oil and animal fats, oilseed rape, and other imported vegetable oils. Existing UK biodiesel production capacity is now estimated at around 611 million litres, although recently commissioned plants are not yet producing at full capacity.
	On bioplastics production, the NNFCC are expanding their knowledge of the UK bioplastic industry, particularly through their recently established Thematic Working Group on Renewable Polymers, which aims to promote and facilitate development of this emerging sector.
	At present, there is one UK-based producer of bioplastics derived from renewable feedstocks. This company manufactures flexible films from cellulose derived from wood pulp. There are also a small number of UK companies that use imported bio-based polymers such as poly lactic acid which is moulded and blended for use in many household and industrial applications. In addition, a few small companies produce simple starch-based polymers for use in applications such as packaging, as a replacement for expanded polystyrene.

Bovine Tuberculosis

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many animals have been subject to pre-movement testing for tuberculosis since it was introduced; and how many of those animals tested produced  (a) a positive reaction and  (b) inconclusive results in each county.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Number 
			  County  Specific pre-movement animal tests carried out between 23 September 2005 and 23 January 2007  Reactors found  Inconclusive reactors found 
			 Suffolk 5 0 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 0 0 0 
			 Norfolk 0 0 0 
			 Cumbria 13,540 2 8 
			 Bedfordshire 0 0 0 
			 Essex 0 0 0 
			 Hertfordshire 0 0 0 
			 Greater London (East) 0 0 0 
			 Devon 37,007 109 166 
			 Avon 6,554 9 16 
			 Gloucestershire 6,876 40 24 
			 Wiltshire 8,431 10 39 
			 North Yorkshire 72 0 0 
			 South Yorkshire 0 0 0 
			 West Yorkshire 0 0 0 
			 Leicestershire 2,338 6 2 
			 Northamptonshire 1,632 0 4 
			 Warwickshire 1,110 1 3 
			 West Midlands 156 0 0 
			 Humberside 52 0 0 
			 Lincolnshire 7 0 0 
			 Nottinghamshire 97 0 0 
			 Durham 1 0 0 
			 Northumberland 2,494 1 3 
			 Tyne and Wear 0 0 0 
			 Cleveland 0 0 0 
			 Greater Manchester 330 0 5 
			 Lancashire 1,910 0 2 
			 Merseyside 137 0 0 
			 Berkshire 261 0 2 
			 Buckinghamshire 518 0 1 
			 Hampshire 100 0 0 
			 Oxfordshire 508 0 0 
			 Isle of Wight 0 0 0 
			 East Sussex 913 2 2 
			 Kent 160 0 0 
			 West Sussex 5 0 0 
			 Surrey 0 0 0 
			 Greater London (South) 0 0 0 
			 Cheshire 10,431 4 8 
			 Derbyshire 10,015 10 6 
			 Staffordshire 26,576 11 21 
			 Dorset 8,179 4 25 
			 Somerset 13,798 16 38 
			 Cornwall 20,383 35 48 
			 Isles of Scilly 0 0 0 
			 Hereford and Worcester 7,808 20 44 
			 Shropshire 13,109 15 10 
			 Total 195,513 295 477 
		
	
	Herd owners can utilise their routine tuberculosis surveillance tests paid for by the Government as pre-movement tests if animals are moved within 60 days after that test.

Bovine Tuberculosis

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers have refused to co-operate in either pre-movement testing or the regular bovine tuberculosis test.

Ben Bradshaw: Bovine TB controls, including TB testing, are statutory under European and domestic legislation. Cattle owners have a legal obligation to present their animals for testing in compliance with these provisions.
	In England, over 85 per cent. of eligible reported cattle movements are currently compliant with pre-movement testing rules.
	As at the end of November 2006, which is the most up to date figure available, 3,091 herds were overdue a bovine tuberculosis test, and had been placed under restriction. A small proportion of these would be cases where a farmer was refusing to allow a test to be carried out.

BSE

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost of BSE to the economy was in each year since the disease was identified.

Ben Bradshaw: A full response to the hon. Member's question could by provided only at disproportionate cost due to the large number of complex factors involved.
	However, an economic impact survey is available in the report of the inquiry into the emergence and identification of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). This covers the period from when the disease was first discovered up to 20 March 1996. Copies are available in the Libraries of the House.

Dog Breeders

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his definition is of a professional dog breeder in relation to EC Council Regulations 1/2005.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 17 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1126-27W.

Energy Crops

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much of the wood fuel intake for the  (a) Middlesbrough and  (b) Lockerbie biomass energy plants is sourced from (i) existing woodlands and (ii) dedicated sources of energy crops; and what forecast he has made of trends in such sourcing over the next 10 years.

Ian Pearson: Both the Teesside and Lockerbie biomass energy plants are still under construction. Both are in receipt of grant funding from the Big Lottery under the Bioenergy Capital Grants Scheme. The grants do not require that a specific amount of feedstock should be sourced from existing woodland, but there is a requirement that the fuel supply includes a minimum proportion of energy crops.
	In his statement on 12 December 2006, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State (David Miliband) confirmed the Government's intention to continue to support energy crop planting under the next Rural Development Programme for England (2007-13). This is also the case for Scotland.
	Forestry Commission England intend to publish a woodfuel strategy which will address the issue of increasing woodfuel available from existing woodlands. In Scotland the Scottish Executive is about to publish its biomass action plan and this will lay out its proposals for developing the bioenergy sector in Scotland. Long-term availability of biomass will also be considered in the UK biomass strategy which the Government intend to publish before May 2007.
	Officials from Defra and the Forestry Commission hold regular discussions with those involved with feedstock procurement for these projects.

EU Waste Incineration Directive

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions were held by  (a) officials from his Department and its predecessors and  (b) Environment Agency officials with (i) EU Commission officials and (ii) outside bodies in connection with the adoption of the EU Waste Incineration Directive prior to the adoption of the directive on 4 December 2000.

Ben Bradshaw: Since the European Commission's initial soundings on its first working paper in February 1994, officials from the former Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) consulted fully, and at all stages, officials from the former Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, other interested Government departments and agencies on the negotiation of the Waste Incineration Directive (WID).
	The Environment Agency was established by the 1995 Environment Act and became fully operational on 1 April 1996.
	The implementation of the WID was discussed by officials at an EU level and copies of the proposed Directive and cost-benefit analyses commissioned by the DETR were distributed for comment to a range of other bodies, including trade representative organisations and associations. Trade representative organisations were also invited to meetings with DETR officials in April 1994, September 1997 and October 1998 to discuss the proposed directive.

GM Crops

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from which countries which grow genetically-manufactured crops the UK imports food.

Ian Pearson: The main genetically modified (GM) crop producing countries are the USA, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India, China, Paraguay and South Africa. The UK imports food from all of these countries.

Greenhouse Gases

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the UK's output of greenhouse gases is accounted for by farm animals.

Ian Pearson: Total direct greenhouse gas emissions arising from the UK livestock sector (sheep, pigs, bovines and poultry) were 4.5 per cent. of the UK total emissions or 8.07 million tonnes of carbon equivalent (MtCe) in 2005. This was made up of: 5.03 MtCe of methane (of which 86 per cent. was from enteric fermentation in the animals digestive systems and about 14 per cent. from manure management); 0.96 MtCe of nitrous oxide emission from manure management; and 2.08 MtCe of nitrous oxide emissions from grazing and crop production for livestock feed.

Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made on the Government's review of the cost of Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Inspection; if he will waive Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control charges until the Government have completed its review; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: My noble friend the Lord Rooker recently met representatives of the intensive livestock rearing industry to discuss permit charges and, in particular, how annual charges might be reduced through streamlined approaches to inspection. The Environment Agency (EA) and the National Farmers' Union are currently considering options including what greater use might be made of assurance scheme visits.
	The Pollution Prevention and Control (England and Wales) Regulations 2000 require permit applications to be accompanied by the prescribed fee. The EA must seek to recover its full costs in accordance with HM Treasury guidance. The EA will review the costs when the majority of the applications has been assessed and the full extent of the work is known.

Mastitis

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to consider the introduction of organic selenium into the diet of cows to reduce the impact of mastitis.

Ben Bradshaw: It is known that areas of the United Kingdom have mineral deficient soil and that deficiencies of selenium occur in farmed animals. Mineral supplements for cattle can therefore be desirable to help alleviate this where it occurs.
	We remain open minded about the possibility of a nutritional link between selenium deficiency and mastitis. The use of selenium supplements in any particular herd should be based on veterinary advice or expert advice from a nutritionist, as selenium can be toxic in excess and has a narrow safety margin. Organic standards allow the inclusion of trace element salts into the diet and in some cases allow trace element treatments within an animal health plan.

Nappies

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the potential role of reusable nappies in limiting the amount of household waste which is sent to landfill;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to promote the use of reusable nappies;
	(3)  what recent discussions his Department has had with  (a) the Waste and Resources Action Programme and  (b) other organisations on promoting the use of real nappies.

Ben Bradshaw: The Defra-funded Waste and Resources Action Programme's (WRAP) Real Nappy Campaign was established to promote the use of reusable nappies. The three year campaign has succeeded in diverting approximately 23,000 tonnes of biodegradable nappy waste from landfill in England.
	Reusable nappies may reduce demands on landfill but they still impact on the environment in other ways, such as the water and energy used in washing and drying them. In May 2005, the Environment Agency (EA) published a report entitled "A Life Cycle Assessment of disposable and reusable nappies in the UK". The report concluded that there was no significant difference between any of the environmental impacts of the disposable, home use reusable and commercial laundry systems that were assessed. None of the systems studied were more or less environmentally preferable.
	The EA has commissioned a modest amount of further work to test the validity of some of the assumptions on which these conclusions were based.
	WRAP intends to hand over the work on real nappies to other interested parties during the course of this financial year.

Nappies

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his assessment is of the success of Waste Resources Action Plan's Real Nappy Campaign; how much funding was received by the Real Nappy Campaign in each year since 2003; and how much funding will be made available in the financial year 2007-08.

Ben Bradshaw: The target of the Waste and Resources Action Programme's (WRAP) Real Nappy Programme, set out in their Business Plan 2003-06, was to divert a total of 35,000 tonnes of disposable nappy waste from landfill.
	WRAP's Achievements Report, published on 4 October 2006, states that the programme diverted approximately 23,000 tonnes of biodegradable nappy waste from landfill in England.
	The Real Nappy Programme budget for the April 2003 to March 2006 period was £2.3 million, with some funding continuing in 2006-07 to allow WRAP to meet existing commitments. No further funding is planned over 2007-08.

Public Bodies: Animal Welfare

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which of his Department's advisory non-departmental public bodies are directly or indirectly connected with animal health and welfare; whether an animal welfare specialist is represented on each; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Non-departmental public body  Animal welfare specialist? 
			 Farm Animal Welfare Council Yes 
			 Animal Health and Welfare Strategy England Implementation Group (EIG) Yes 
			 Independent Scientific Group on TB in Cattle No animal welfare specialist but members have related experience in differing fields including wildlife diseases/badger ecology 
			 Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) No animal welfare specialist but deputy chair is a practicing vet 
			 Veterinary Products Committee No animal welfare specialist but members are experienced in various fields including veterinary surgeons and toxicologists 
			 Veterinary Residues Committee The Committee's terms of reference do not cover animal welfare

RADAR

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects the rapid analysis and detection of animal-related risks (RADAR) to be complete; and how RADAR relates to the veterinary surveillance system.

Ben Bradshaw: The Rapid Analysis and Detection of Animal-related Risks (RADAR) system allows for key surveillance information about animal diseases and conditions to be collected in a structured and consistent manner. It is the technical agent for assisting in delivering the UK Veterinary Surveillance Strategy.
	RADAR also contains current, accurate information about the number and location of animals. This allows for a better understanding of animal disease in the UK and the risks posed by them, helping to control animal related disease.
	RADAR is being developed and released in phases between now and 2013. The first release happened in March 2005 and made information available on the Great Britain cattle population and cases of salmonella. Information on the Great Britain poultry population has been added subsequently.
	RADAR is now operational and further enhancements are being developed. The next update will enable information on sheep, pig, deer and goat movements to be incorporated into the system.
	Surveillance reports have already been produced using RADAR and a number of these are available on the Defra website.

Recycling

John Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which recycling plants abroad have been visited by his officials in the last 18 months; and at what cost to his Department.

Ben Bradshaw: Defra assisted the British embassy in Berne in coordinating a delegation for an outward three-day visit to Switzerland, under the UK Trade and Investment Programme, for 10 key English local authorities. The visit, which was attended by two Defra officials, incorporated a range of formal presentations and meetings with Swiss politicians and waste industry representatives as well as site visits to two recycling plants.
	The aim of the visit was to learn about Swiss best practice in waste prevention, collection and recycling processing, in addition to bringing together key authorities to assist in their own waste infrastructure development.
	Delegates included local authority officers and councillors from Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Greater London, Hertfordshire, Tyneside, Northamptonshire and Suffolk. The total cost to the Department for officials was, £1245.
	Officials have also visited a recycling plant at a Danish deposit/return system. However, this was part of a wider ministerial visit to learn about waste management in Denmark generally, rather than an official trip.

Recycling

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what action he is taking with retail operators to encourage the recycling of plastic carrier bags;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to encourage greater use of biodegradable and recyclable materials in the use of carrier bags for supermarkets.

Ben Bradshaw: The Environment Agency is currently carrying out a study considering the environmental impacts of a range of carrier bags, including disposable plastic carrier bags and biodegradable alternatives. The study will look at their entire life-cycle (from raw material extraction through to product manufacture, use and final disposal) and is due to report by the end of March this year. The evidence so far suggests there would be no benefit in reducing the number of plastic bags in use if this encourages the use of alternative packaging or materials which are even more environmentally damaging.
	The National Non-Food Crops Centre has also started work on life cycle analysis comparison of plastic, oxodegradable and biodegradable bags. Again, this will be available by March 2007. They have established a thematic working group on biopolymers which aims to promote and facilitate the expansion of this sector. Biopolymers are derived from renewable sources and can be used in a range of products, including bags, which helps to develop a sustainable supply chain.
	On 12 October last year, the Scottish Minister, Ross Finnie, and I jointly chaired a meeting with major UK retailers, to discuss a proposed voluntary code of practice on reducing the use of paper and plastic carrier bags. Defra is working closely with the devolved administrations, the Waste Resources Action Programme, the British Retail Consortium, retailers and the plastics industry to develop a voluntary approach for reducing the environmental impact of carrier bags. This is looking at ways of encouraging consumers to 'reduce, reuse and recycle' carrier bags. We intend to announce a programme of joint activity shortly.
	In addition, the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2005 require that 60 per cent. of packaging is recovered by 2008 and that a minimum of 55 per cent. is recycled. The regulations have succeeded so far in raising the recycling rate in the UK for packaging waste from around 27 per cent. in 1997 to 54.4 per cent. in 2005.

Recycling

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the sustainability of markets for recycled materials.

Ben Bradshaw: Rising energy costs are encouraging industry to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and consider greater use of recycled materials, especially in the glass and plastic sectors. This, and a range of other factors such as Government interventions, have caused a period of unprecedented growth in recycling.
	We can expect recycling to increase further, and it will be important to continue to progress market development (the development of sustainable markets for recycled materials) in the UK. Defra's Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has been established with this role. WRAP's work is focusing on materials where barriers need to be tackled to improve the sustainability of the markets concerned. These include paper, plastics, glass, wood and compost.
	Broadly, challenges in these and other markets include:
	(i) developing alternative markets for recycled material and improving standards, specifications and procurement arrangements (particularly in the case of paper, plastics, wood and compost);
	(ii) improving reprocessing capacity (particularly for plastics, wood and compost);
	(iii) addressing quality sourcing problems (particularly in the case of paper, glass, wood and compost); and
	(iv) improving collection infrastructure (especially for plastics, wood and compost).
	The current WRAP business plan outlines how these market development challenges are being addressed.
	WRAP has also started to produce public market situation reports for key recyclable materials. The first of these, on glass, was published in January 2007. This identified that a particular challenge for glass market development will be increasing the quantity of high quality colour-separated cullet. WRAP plans that a report on paper will follow in spring 2007 and another on plastic in summer 2007.

Seas and Oceans: Bournemouth

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the change in average sea levels in the Bournemouth area has been over the last 25 years; and what change is forecasted over the next 25 years.

Ian Pearson: It is difficult to give a precise estimate of past sea level rise at specific locations because of the relative short length of most tide gauge records and the significant inter-annual variation, including a 19 year lunar cycle. However, it is generally accepted that sea levels along the south coast have been rising by between 1 and 2 mm per year over recent decades.
	Defra published revised guidance for operating authorities on future rates of sea level rise to be taken into account in flood and coastal erosion risk management decisions in November 2006. This recommended that, including the effects of vertical land movement in the south west, an allowance of 3.5 mm rise per year should be made from the baseline of nominal 1990 levels to 2025 (that is, that levels in 2025 could be 122.5 mm higher than in 1990).
	From 2025 to 2050, it is recommended that an 8.0 mm rise per year is assumed, to give a total rise of 178.5 mm by 2032, relative to 1990 levels. These are not predictions but are intended to be reasonably precautionary working allowances. The assumptions and qualifications on which these recommendations are based are included in the guidance which is published on the Defra website.

Seas and Oceans: Bournemouth

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans there are to improve sea defences at Hengistbury Head in Bournemouth.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 22 November 2006,  Official Report, column 135W.

Warm Front Scheme

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress his Department has made in encouraging Cornwall-based installers onto the Warm Front Scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: A series of meetings have been held between officials and representatives from a variety of organisations and authorities in Cornwall regarding the Warm Front Scheme. Discussions have included consideration of how to encourage local installers to work on the scheme and a further meeting is scheduled for late February to take these discussions forward and to investigate possible solutions.